Many of the more common species are stout, soft bodied, smooth and cylindrical larvae. The color ranges from brown to gray to black. Cutworms may be either spotted or striped, or may have no particular markings at all. The adult moths are robust, dull-colored moths, sometimes called millers, which fly only at night. Cutworms feed on a great variety of plants.
Cutworms feed at night and hide in the soil or under piles of debris during the day.
Some cutworms overwinter as partly grown larvae, although a few overwinter as pupae. They find shelter in the soil, under clumps of grass, or under piles of debris. In spring as the warm weather arrives, the cutworms begin feeding. In early summer, the mature cutworm hollows out a chamber in the soil and transforms to the pupal or resting stage. For the species that overwinter as pupae, the adult moths emerge in early spring and the egg laying begins at that time.