By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
One thing more destructive than the moth may be the cat trying to chase it. The spring season has seen an abundance of army cutworms, more commonly called millers or moths, in central Kansas. The moths may not know it, but Alicia Boor, agriculture and natural resources agent in the Cottonwood District for K-State Research and Extension, said the insects are migrating to be bear food.
"That's why we're seeing all these moths," she said. "They're actually migrating up to the mountains. They spend the summer in the mountains, and that's where the grizzly bears will find them. They say their fat content equals about a half-calorie per moth, so grizzly bears can eat up to 40,000 of them in a day as they're preparing over the summer for their winter hibernation."
Boor said moth populations ebb and flow like most things in nature, but dry conditions may be a cause for more of the insects than usual this year. While they can damage certain crops as larvae, that is usually the exception rather than the norm.
"The army cutworm really thrives on winter annuals," Boor said. "Sometimes you'll see army cutworm damage out of wheat and other winter annuals that are out in the field. You can have them in your lawn but that's not as common."
As adults, moths feed on nectar and are a food source for other animals. The term "miller" is used for any moth that arrives in large numbers and applies to various species of the insect.
Female cutworm adults deposit 1,000-3,000 eggs on the soil surface or under dirt clods. Given susceptibility to soil-borne fungi, low soil moisture may reduce fungal activity and result in more larvae making it into adulthood. Larvae tend to eat the tender blades of wheat, but often leave behind the parts that make regrowth possible. When food sources run out, an "army" of larvae may move to find more food sources.
The larvae finish feeding in late April and early May, burrow into the soil, and emerge two to three weeks later as the moth. To avoid daylight, they burrow in cracks and crevices and become a nuisance to property owners. Turning off porch lights at night and replacing white lights with yellow lights can help reduce the number of moths attracted to a residence.
A researcher at Yellowstone has noted the importance of the moths to bear populations, especially as other food sources decline. Reduction in the numbers of moths in the Midwest due to pesticides will impact that food source for bears in the West.