–by Dr. Jeff Whitworth and Dr. Holly Schwarting
Armyworms have been feeding in brome throughout north central Kansas for about the last three weeks. However, they have just, in the past week, gotten large enough to start being noticed. They are first being detected because the infested patches of brome do not have any leaves, due to armyworm feeding, and/or no heads where the seeds develop. These infested areas will have delayed development due to this feeding but the stand should recover. These armyworms are already “making the ground come alive” as they reach maturity and crawl down the plants, usually many at about the same time, to seek pupation sites in the soil. This is noticeable even on dirt roads or lanes near these infested fields.
