African Bollworm (Cotton Bollworm / Corn Earworm)

The single most destructive crop pest in the Old World tropics, Helicoverpa armigera attacks over 200 crop species and causes annual global losses estimated at $5 billion. It is a major pest of cotton, tomato, maize, sorghum, chickpea, pigeon pea, and legumes. The larvae bore into fruit and reproductive structures, causing direct damage to the harvested product. H. armigera has developed resistance to virtually every insecticide class used against it.

Larvae are variable in color — green, brown, pink, or almost black — with longitudinal stripes along the body and a dark head capsule. They reach 35-40 mm at maturity. Adults are stout-bodied moths (35-40 mm wingspan) with pale brown forewings (females) or greenish-gray forewings (males) with a dark kidney-shaped spot and a dark comma-shaped mark.

• 1

  Larvae are highly variable in color — look for lateral stripes and dark head capsule

• 2

  H. armigera larvae tend to be solitary (one per fruit), unlike cluster-feeding species

• 3

  Check inside fruit, pods, and ears — larvae bore in early and feed internally

• 4

  Look for round, clean entry holes on fruit surfaces

• 5

  Use pheromone traps for definitive species identification

• Round entry holes in tomato fruit, cotton bolls, maize ears, or legume pods

• Frass (caterpillar droppings) at entry holes or inside damaged fruit

• Larvae inside fruit feeding on internal tissue — one larva can damage multiple fruit

• Damaged flower buds (squares in cotton) that fail to develop

• Silk damage and ear-tip feeding in maize

African Bollworm (Cotton Bollworm / Corn Earworm) can attack 9 crop species.