'Entomologists have done feeding studies on these things, and they eat about 70% of all the foliage that they'll ever eat as a caterpillar in that last two to three days of their last instar.'Įarly evidence of armyworms are small cutouts from leaves, resembling windowpanes, Royer said. 'They literally can take a lawn out overnight,' Royer said. After they hatch, they are nearly unnoticeable, but after molting six times as caterpillars they reach maximum size before turning into a pupa. These worms are dangerous for lush, summer lawns, Royer said.

That is because this year's plague of armyworms has an appetite for grass, particularly lawns and pasture, Royer added. Homeowners across Oklahoma are getting a taste of what crop farmers deal with year after year: pests! And they are not happy, Royer said. Oklahoma State University Extension Specialist for Small Grains and Row Crop Entomology, Integrated Pest Management Coordinator Tom Royer met with Radio Oklahoma's own KC Sheperd about Oklahoma's armyworm infestation.

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