Green Caterpillars Causing Defoliation in Soybean

Jul 23, 2025

By Adam Varenhorst and Patrick Wagner

This week we observed several species of caterpillars in soybean fields. The most common species were the green cloverworm (Figure 1) and the cabbage looper (Figure 2).

Another green caterpillar that is pretty common in soybean during this time of year is the alfalfa caterpillar (Figure 3).

Green cloverworm caterpillars are green, and they have a white stripe on each side of their bodies along with three pairs of abdominal prolegs, as noted by the yellow circle in Figure 1.

Source : sdstate.edu
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