Unlike army worms, they have two pairs of abdominal prolegs. The adults are brown and gray moths with a wingspan of one and a half inches. They have silver spots on their upper wings, towards the center of the wing.
Eggs are laid individually on the undersides of older leaves, they are dome-shaped with ridges.
They also bore holes in lettuce and cabbage heads. Look on the underside of leaves for loopers themselves and for their fecal matter, small black pellets. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis , an organic pesticide which disrupts their gut and causes them to starve to death. Watch for signs that natural predators are managing the population. Trichogramma, Hyposoter, Copidosoma , and birds all prey upon loopers.