That question has probably occurred to every gardener in South Carolina who has seen his or her vegetables being consumed by insects that seemed to pop up suddenly, out of thin air. Well, some insects actually do come out of the air, according to Randy Griffin, Clemson Extension entomologist. The fall armyworm is one. It arrives on winds from Florida as adult moths. Other garden insect pests come out of the ground, from under the bark of trees and from trash in and around the garden.
Corn earworms rest over the winter as pupae several inches below the soil surface.
When spring arrives, they come to the surface as adults through tunnels in the soil. They mate and lay eggs that hatch three days later as larvae, which begin feeding on a wide variety of vegetables. Cucumber beetles, stink bugs and certain aphids overwinter as adults in protected areas at the base of plants, under tree bark, and in wood and trash piles. Other aphids spend the winter as eggs attached to host plants, in plant cracks or under tree bark. Japanese beetles escape winter cold as grubs in the ground.