Agrotis ipsilon

Agrotis ipsilon, the dark sword-grass, black cutworm, greasy cutworm, floodplain cutworm or ipsilon dart, is a small noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like the letter 'Y' or the Greek letter upsilon. The larvae are known as 'cutworms' because they cut plants and other crops. The larvae are serious agricultural pests and feed on nearly all varieties of vegetables and many important grains. This species is a seasonal migrant that travels north in the spring and south in the fall to escape extreme temperatures in the summer and winter. The migration patterns reflect how reproduction occurs in the spring and ceases in the fall. Females release sex pheromones to attract males for mating. Pheromone production and release in females and pheromone responsiveness in males is dependent on the juvenile hormone (JH) and pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (BPAN). In the span of 2 months, the moth progresses through the life cycle stages egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. Throughout this time period, this moth faces the risk of predation and parasitism, such as by Hexamermis arvalis or by the parasite Archytas cirphis. Populations of this species have been found in southern Canada, 48 of the United States (and additionally Hawaii), Mexico, Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Rim, North Africa, Europe, and Asia. However, they are absent from some tropical regions and colder areas and are more widespread in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere. This species is also known to migrate north in the spring and migrate south in the fall. Larvae feed on weeds such as bluegrass, curled dock, lambsquarters, yellow rocket, and redroot pigweed. They will often eat all the weeds available before moving to attacking crops. Favored crops include most vegetable plants, alfalfa, clover, cotton, rice, sorghum, strawberry, sugarbeet, tobacco, and occasionally grains and grasses. Adults feed on flower nectar. They are also attracted to deciduous trees and shrubs such as linden, wild plum, crabapple, and lilac. They are a pollinator of fetterbush lyonia. Based on the types of debris on the ground, the black cutworm prefers to oviposit in areas with fencerow (pasture) debris rather than corn field debris, woodland floor debris, and bare soil. Fencerow debris includes dry grass debris, and this may be attractive for females to oviposit early in the spring before rapid vegetation growth occurs.