Asia bracing for destruction by alien pest: fall armyworms

Fall armyworms, a longtime American pest, are munching their way around the globe, raising alarm now in Asia after entrenching themselves in Africa.

The worms can cause damage at all stages of a corn crop, but the worst may be when the larvae, pinky-sized caterpillars turn sweet corn cobs to mush. The incursions of the alien species threaten to upend the balance between costs and returns for farmers in Thailand and elsewhere.In its native regions, from Argentina to northerndepending on the season, the bug's natural enemies — predators, parasites and pathogens such as bacteria or viruses — help keep it in check.

Some local farmers were working hard to limit their losses by pulling the tops off stalks grown for baby corn and discarding them to limit how much damage the worms could do. That tactic causes the plant to sprout new ears that can be harvested later. Charuwat Taekul, an entomologist at the Department of Agriculture who specializes in microscopic parasitic wasps, was collecting egg clusters to use in his research into natural enemies of the worms. It's unclear if such wasps would be effective in keeping the fall armyworms under control, but it's one of various strategies being considered.

The best case scenario, says Fredrix, would be farmers successfully scouting for and finding the worms early on, so they can keep them under control. The FAO has developed an app that teaches the basics of how to find and deal with fall armyworms.

I’m waiting for someone to stand up for these worms right to survive.

Maybe they could get some cane toads from Australia to eat them. 🐸🍴🐛

TurfEnto Wow! Annual Bluegrass Weevil next?

This 'worm' in the hand is a caterpillar from a butterfly.. Maybe a 'Noctua pronuba', but not for sure. But its a member from the family moctuidae

Maybe they can eat all the pollution.

TheStrain

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