Cutworms Cutworms Several species of cutworms damage tobacco in South Carolina. They can damage plants in the bed as well as in the field. The most damage usually occurs to newly set plants. The worms eat entirely or nearly through the stalks just at the surface of the ground. Sometimes only the end bud is cut off.
Some species climb the stalks and feed on the leaves.
Cutworms usually do their feeding at night and hide in the soil around the plant during the day. Most cutworms in this state pass the winter as partly to fully grown larvae in the soil or in clumps of grass. The adult moth emerges during the summer. Each female moth can lay as many as 1,000 eggs.