Cutworm can be a serious problem in seedling maize, sweetcorn and kumara throughout New Zealand.
Each female moth can produce between 600 and 800 egs. A single cutworm can kill 2-5 Maize seedlings, leaving it cut at ground level.
The moths are a mottled dark to greyish-brown, males being lighter than females. They are approximately 40-45 mm long with a rectangular shape when wings are not expanded. They lay eggs one at a time or in groups, often on broadleaf weeds.
Younger cut worm caterpillars can usually be found on leaves, and are greyish green to reddish brown in colour. Bigger caterpillars are greyish-green and will be found in the soil, burrowing up to 8 cm deep .They often have two yellowish stripes down the body