Later in the season they may climb up the stalks and cut entire leaves off the plants. They damage tobacco by sucking plant juices from the leaves of the tobacco and cause them to curl. As they feed they excrete honeydew from their intestine that supports a fungus growth that gives the plants a black sooty appearance. Heavy infestations may result in uneven curing of the tobacco after harvest. Both the tobacco wireworm and the southern potato wireworm occur throughout the south and either may be the predominant species in any field.
Wireworms feed on the roots or underground stems of tobacco plants.
This underground feeding often destroys a stand of' tobacco. The wireworms that feed on tobacco are usually in the soil at transplanting time. There is a thin line along the side of the body, and two other near the middle line of the back. The larvae have two pairs of abdominal prolegs and crawls with a looping motion. These larvae damage tobacco by eating large areas of the leaves, usually from the lower part of' the stalk.