Adults are nocturnal hence they can best be monitored with pheromone traps. Larvae feed voraciously at night but hide during the day usually beneath the soil surface. They attack the crowns of young plants but they are most damaging when they feed on the fruits. Larval control of armyworms can be achieved with the microbial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subsp. Adults are gray to black, less than 1 cm long with a curved snout and elbowed antennae.
Damage is caused by larvae which are white or pink, C-shaped and legless.
They feed on strawberry roots and crowns causing plants to wilt and die. Larvae overwinter in the soil and are destroyed by soil fumigation and hence root weevils are usually not a problem in California. Selected References Allen, W. W. 1959. A guide for commercial growers. Allen, W. W. and S. E. Gaede.