This ID guide will assist you in identifying cluster caterpillar, northern armyworm and fall armyworm.

Proper identification is important for knowing if the insect in your field is of economic importance. The correct identification of a pest allows for appropriate management practices to be implemented, and early identification and detection of potential exotic pests, enabling successful containment and eradication programs.

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References for further reading/identification:

Cluster caterpillar, Spodoptera litura

PM 7/124 (1) Spodoptera littoralis, Spodoptera litura, Spodoptera frugiperda, Spodoptera eridania; https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12258
Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 2017, Cluster caterpillar. Available from: https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/agriculture/plants/fruit…

 

Northern armyworm, Mythimna separate

Bailey, P 2007, Pests of Field Crops and Pasture: identification and control. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
CABI Plantwise Knowledge Bank, n.d, Paddy armyworm (Mythimna separata) Available from: https://www.plantwise.org/knowledgebank/datasheet/45093#SymptomsSection…;
Queensland Government 2019, Armyworm. Available from: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agric…

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

  • CABI Invasive Species Compendium, 2019, Fall armyworm portal. Available from: https://www.cabi.org/isc/fallarmyworm
  • CABI Invasive Species Compendium, 2019, Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm). Available from: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/29810#tosummaryOfInvasiveness
  • Capinera, J 2017, University of Florida, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith). Available from: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/fall_armyworm.htm
  • FAO and CABI. 2019. Community-Based Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) Monitoring, Early warning and Management, Training of Trainers Manual, First Edition. 112 pp. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
  • Firake DM, Behere GT, Babu Subhash, Prakash N. 2019. Fall Armyworm: Diagnosis and Management (An extension pocket book). ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam-793 103, Meghalaya, India. 48p
  • Otim M, Tay WT, Walsh TK, Kanyesigye D, et al. (2018). Detection of sister-species in invasive populations of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Uganda. PLoS ONE 13(4), e0194571. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0194571
  • PM 7/124 (1) Spodoptera littoralis, Spodoptera litura, Spodoptera frugiperda, Spodoptera eridania 2015. EPPO Bulletinhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/epp.12258
Download this ID guide here.