Spring Cutworm

(Amphipoea fucosa, or Apamea paludis), an insect of the family Noctuidae of the order Lepidoptera, a dangerous pest of spring cereals. The wingspread is 27–35 mm. The fore wings are yellow-brown, and hind wings gray-brown. About 500 eggs are laid in July and August. The larvae, which hatch in the spring, live and feed inside the young shoots of wheat, barley, oats and—less often—corn. The infested plants die. After feeding, the larvae bury themselves in the soil. Control measures include the correct use of crop rotations.