High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The African armyworm (AAW), Spodoptera exempta (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), also called okalombo or Kommandowurm or nutgrass armyworm, is an African moth. It is a very deleterious pest, capable of destroying entire crops in a matter of weeks. The larvae feed on all types of grasses, early stages of cereal crops (e.g., corn, rice, wheat, millet, sorghum), sugar cane, and occasionally on coconut (Odiyo 1984; Yarrow et al. 1981). The armyworm gets its name from its habit of "marching" in large numbers from grasslands into crops. AAWs tend to occur at very high densities during the rainy season, especially after periods of prolonged drought (Haggis 1984, 1986). During the long dry season in eastern Africa AAW population densities are very low. Because outbreaks are never observed during the dry season, it is called the "off-season" by those that monitor AAWs (Odiyo 1981).