The larvae feed on corn foliage, stalks, and ears, and even tunnel into the cob.
This insect is unable to overwinter in South Carolina, but must fly here from much farther south. The moths choose fields thickly covered with grass. If the worms are still unsatisfied when they have eaten all the grass, they start in on the corn. When mature, they enter the soil to pupate. The moths emerge about 2 weeks later.
