Oriental Armyworm

Continuous warm temperatures for prolonged periods have led to the serious armyworm infestation in Assam damaging around 28,000 hectares of paddy crop.

Scientific name – Mythimna separata

Also known as the northern armyworm, ear head cutting caterpillar and rice ear-cutting caterpillar.

1^st report – Reported as a sporadic pest from Tamil Nadu during 1937 and Kerala and Odisha in 1957.

Key features – It is a cyclical pest that comes intermittently and was known to strike once every 10-12 years.

They are polyphagous (feed on a range of host crop plants like paddy and wheat mainly and also on maize, millets, sunflower, sugarcane and groundnut)
Growing conditions – Pest population increases rapidly during high temperatures and a humid atmosphere.
During an outbreak, they multiply largely and move in swarms from field to field, like an army, to attack the crops.

Fall armyworm

Scientific name – Spodoptera frugiperda
Native to- Tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.
Key features – It is a polyphagous insect that feeds mainly on maize and more than 80 other crops.
It is a transboundary pest (fly over 100 km in a single night).

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