army worm

British  

noun

1. the caterpillar of a widely distributed noctuid moth, Leucania unipuncta, which travels in vast hordes and is a serious pest of cereal crops in North America

2. any of various similar caterpillars

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Example Sentences

But she has no way to protect her crops from the plague of fall army worm, a pest that has invaded southern Africa as rainfall patterns changed.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2022

It is neither a boll weevil nor an army worm, and the state entomologist, Prof. T. H. Jones, is investigating.

From Time Magazine Archive

On a lesser scale, three kinds of insects are attacking sweet corn in Maryland and Pennsylvania: the fall army worm, the corn-ear worm and the European corn borer.

From Time Magazine Archive

The larva of Sciăra militaris, a European two-winged fly, is also called army worm.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 Amiel to Atrauli by Various

During the balance of the year it is engaged most of the time in waging war on various insect pests, including such forms as the “grub-worms,” cut-worms, grasshoppers, army worm, beet caterpillar, etc.

From A Book of Natural History Young Folks' Library Volume XIV. by Jordan, David Starr