Wherever grass is grown and maintained, sod webworms are usually present at one time or another. Blackbirds, starlings or robins feeding on turf may indicate the presence of sod webworms or other insect pests. Description Egg-tiny, pale and oblong. Front wings have a light streak from the wing base to the margin. The wings are folded tent-like close to the body when at rest.
Moths have a quick, jerky zigzag flight when disturbed.
There are several generations of sod webworms each year in Alabama. Sod webworms spend the winter as larvae. Living in silken tunnels just below the soil line, larvae become active in the spring and feed on roots, stems and blades of grass. Larvae pupate in underground cocoons made of silk, soil and bits of plants. About ten days to two weeks later the moths emerge.