Veronica Yurchak, Vegetable Specialist, UMD; vjohnso4@umd.edu
Congratulations to Peter Arnold for being the first to correctly identify this insect as a yellow-striped armyworm! Yellow-striped armyworms are a sporadic pest of numerous vegetable crops including tomatoes, peppers, cucurbits, and cole crops. While these caterpillars are primarily foliage feeders, they can cause serious damage to tomato and pepper fruits later in the season.
As with other armyworm species, yellow-striped armyworms are more easily controlled when small, as larger stages become more tolerant to a variety of insecticides. Most products listed as effective against corn earworm are effective for controlling small, yellow-striped armyworm larvae, while those listed for beet armyworm may be more effective against larger stages.
