You Are Here: Management Updates 2006 Archive December 4, 2006

Date: December 4, 2006
Category: Insects
Subject: Caterpillars in Turf?

This certainly has been an unusual autumn, but of course I say that every year! I received a phone call from a lawn care professional a few days ago reporting caterpillar activity on a lawn in the Route 495 corridor. I did not have a specimen to look at so I could not be positive, but based on his description, I suspected it might be the variegated cutworm, Peridroma saucia.

Yesterday I received two specimens in the mail from a golf course on Cape Cod. The superintendent reported caterpillar feeding activity on the greens (the damage resembled that of black cutworms), and he found some caterpillars at the bottom of the cup when he was setting winter positions. He said he also saw some caterpillars active on the surface.

The specimens he sent me were variegated cutworms. The caterpillars usually are fairly dark brown on top and a bit lighter on the underside, and have four to seven pale yellow broken "dashes" along the side of the body. There is also a black W-shaped mark on the top of the eighth segment. The full sized caterpillars can be 1.5 inches long.

The species is very well adapted to cold temperatures in New England, and usually overwinters as pupae. So it would make sense to see nearly full-sized caterpillars active now, especially since the temperatures overall have been fairly mild this fall.

With the cold weather finally arriving, it does not make sense to try to control these caterpillars with insecticides. Once the soil temperatures begin to drop and approach freezing, caterpillar activity should cease for this year.

Submitted by: Dr. Pat Vittum

DISCLAIMER - As always, it is the responsibility of the applicator to verify the registration status of any pesticide BEFORE applying it. Different states have different regulations as well. The author and the University of Massachusetts are not liable for any consequences of any pesticide "recommendations". Mention of any trade name is not to be considered endorsement of a product.

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