About Mythimna Separata:
- It is a typical long-distance migratory insect that is a major, polyphagous pest of grain crops in China and other Asian countries.
- The pest was first reported as a sporadic pest in Tamil Nadu in 1937 and Kerala and Odisha in 1957.
- The pest is known as the ear-head-cutting caterpillar, rice ear-cutting caterpillar, or armyworm.
- It feeds on leaves and can cut off panicles from the base of a crop plant.
- It frequently leaves the field looking like it has been grazed by cattle.
- During an outbreak, the pest multiplies in large numbers and moves in swarms from field to field, like an army, to feed and attack the crops.
- Favourable condition: An increase in temperatures with dryness creates a favourable condition for the pest population to increase.
What is a polyphagous pest?
- Polyphagous insect pests are primarily agricultural pests that feed on economically important agricultural and horticultural crops of wide taxonomic diversity across the globe.
