Fall Armyworm

It's autumn, and that means it's feeding time for the armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda). We've had to cut down several oak trees in our yard over the years, so we don't see as many of these caterpillars as we once did, but a few are still around, as hungry as ever. As you probably know, they can be extremely destructive to crops, one species even causing a state of emergency in Liberia in 2009 (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7854126.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7842167.stm).

This armyworm seemed to be resting, for it remained unmoving on the blade of grass.

By contrast, this one was busily searching for food.

Here's one munching on a sunflower seed among the slugs.

The armyworm is the larval stage of a moth, which looks like this:

Taken by Donald Hobern, Woods Hole, MA 29 Sept. 2010

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/field/fall_armyworm.htm
http://entomology.unl.edu/charts/armywcht.shtml