Alberni growers face cutworm

A mild winter has provided favourable conditions for a surge in winter cutworm (Noctua pronuba) populations on central Vancouver Island.

Alberni Clayoquot Regional District sustainability planner Amy Needham says populations are approaching outbreak levels in areas such as the Alberni Valley, though the exact cause is unknown.

The appearance of the worm, the larval form of the large yellow underwing moth, has caused concern because of its similarity to true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta), which infested farms on Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley in 2017.

Winds carried true armyworm into the province that year, spawning the outbreak, whereas winter cutworm is an established species, having spread west after its initial introduction in Nova Scotia in 1979.

The species overwinters as larvae and emerges as adult moths in the spring. Cold-hardy, it has been known to emerge despite snow cover to forage on grasses and a variety of storage crops, brassicas and berries.

Together with the Alberni Farmers Institute, the regional district is planning a program of Light traps to monitor emerging populations beginning in March. It is hoped monitoring will indicate the potential for a naturally occurring pathogen to crash the population, reducing the threat to Vancouver Island growers.

Most outbreaks do not lead to economic damage. Just one economically significant outbreak of the pest has occurred, when extension agents reported thousands of caterpillars around homes and in hay fields in Michigan in 2007. The population eventually crashed, with a pathogen suspected of clipping its wings.

True armyworm has not been reported in BC since the 2017 outbreak, though the Western Yellowstriped Armyworm made an appearance the following year in the southern Interior.

Warmer winters have raised pest pressures for growers, creating more favourable conditions for invasive species to gain a foothold and establish themselves. With some species, warmer weather increases the potential for more generations each season, complicating management.

All content on this website is copyrighted, and cannot be republished or reproduced without permission.

6 hours ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments

Likes: 1
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

11 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 19
Shares: 7
Comments: 0

4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 17
Shares: 1
Comments: 0

Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 1
Comments: 3

There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.

SEPTEMBER 2026
Vol. 112 Issue 9

Alberni growers face cutworm

Related Posts

ACRD hires agri-food staff