The back is purplish-brown, the underside green and there is a yellow stripe running along each side. It sometimes feeds on leaves, webbing them together, or bores into the stem and roots. There are 2-3 generations per year and the late generation is most damaging. This insect is rare, however, and control is not usually necessary. See fact sheet.
Wireworms feed on seeds, roots, and stems, producing weak plants.
They are mainly problems on root crops such as turnips or rutabaga. Several species of wireworms are involved and, like the white grubs, are more injurious to crops planted on soil that is the first or second year out of sod. The corn wireworm, Melanotus communis , or the wheat wireworm, Agriotes mancus, usually occur in heavier organic soils and tend to disappear with continued cultivation. Light sandy soils favor the eastern field wireworm, Limonius agonus . Continued cultivation encourages this species.