: Gardening: question of the week.
Q: Can you identify the short, fat, grey-brown worms which are just
below the surface of the soil round my cabbages?
A: Almost certainly cutworms, the grubs of nocturnal nocturnal /noc·tur·nal/ (nok-tur´n'l) pertaining to, occurring at, or active at night.
noc·tur·nal
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or occurring in the night.
2. moths This is an incomplete list of species of Lepidoptera that are commonly known as moths. Large and dramatic moth species
- Death's-head Hawkmoth Acherontia atropos
- Luna Moth Actias luna
- Atlas moth Attacus atlas
. They
kill young plants by gnawing through the stems usually at ground level.
Plants affected include the cabbage family, lettuces, other vegetables
and occasionally young flowers. Cutworms can generally be found by
probing the soil close to any plant which has been attacked. Some
protection can be given by using Fyba cabbage collars or 15cm (6in)
squares of old carpet cut so they fit tightly round the stems of young
plants. They can be removed when the plants are nearing full size.
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Copyright 2002 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
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