In British Columbia, this pest is attacked by 18 species of parasitic insects, five species of fungi and three other kinds of microbial pathogens. Damage Assessment Economic importance Redbacked cutworm frequently causes serious damage on the Prairies and produces infestations of two to four years duration followed by a minimum of two years of relative scarcity. Damage by young larvae is characterized by small holes and notches in foliage. Older larvae eat into stems and usually sever them at or just below the soil surface. Infestations in cereal crops are characterized by areas of bare soil that gradually enlarge until anywhere from one to two acres to complete fields are affected.
Damage is often patchy and occurs on knolls and in light soil areas.
These bare areas of exposed soil are often confused with areas of poor germination or moisture stress. The presence of cutworms is characterized by severed, dead, dried plants. Redbacked cutworm moths have been monitored with pheromone traps since 1978 in southern Alberta. In 1985, a province-wide pheromone monitoring system was established for this and other cutworm species. Sample for of larvae as for other subterranean cutworm species.