What is the life cycle of the fall armyworm?
Learning Objective:
Participants should be able to identify and explain the life cycle of the fall armyworm.
Understanding the different stages of the lifecycle of the fall armyworm is an important part of effective management. This diagram from CABI in the FAO manual on Understanding Fall Armyworm (FAW) – Spodoptera frugiperda shows the different stages of FAW and damage to maize.
Read
Make sure you have read the FAO-CABI FAW Field Handbook. It is a handy resource and has all the basic information to get you familiar with FAW.
Download this useful 2-page FAO-CABI photo identification resource for Fall Armyworm and become familiar with the different stages of FAW as well as signs of leaf damage.
Find
It can be hard to see pupae in the soil, but you can find them if you know what to look for. Watch this video from Australia to find out how.
Search
Visit a maize field and use the FAO-CABI photo identification resource for Fall Armyworm to see how many different stages of FAW and evidence of infestation you can identify in the field (hopefully there won’t be any FAW!).
