CreatureData

Fall armyworm

Spodoptera frugiperda Smith, J.E., 1797

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a species in the family Noctuidae, order Lepidoptera.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the fall armyworm

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the fall armyworm live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the fall armyworm as introduced in 9 countries, and flagged as invasive in 8 of them.

  1. Guineainvasive
  2. Guinea-Bissauinvasive
  3. Liberiainvasive
  4. Maliinvasive
  5. Nigerinvasive
  6. Senegalinvasive
  7. Sierra Leoneinvasive
  8. Togoinvasive
  9. Cyprus

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the fall armyworm endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the fall armyworm classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyNoctuidae
  6. genusSpodoptera
  7. SpeciesSpodoptera frugiperda Smith, J.E., 1797

Synonyms Laphygma frugiperda, Laphygma macra, Phalaena frugiperda, Spodoptera autumnalis, Spodoptera flavimaculata, Spodoptera fulvosa, Spodoptera inepta, Spodoptera macra, Spodoptera obscura, Spodoptera plagiata, Spodoptera signifera

Other names and names in other languages (13)
  • Autumn army wormEnglish
  • Fall armyworm mothEnglish
  • Herbst-HeerwurmGerman
  • Oruga militarSpanish
  • légionnaire d'automneFrench
  • גדודנית פולשתHebrew
  • ツマジロクサヨトウJapanese
  • lagarta-militarPortuguese
  • Совка-карадринаRussian
  • 秋行軍蟲Chinese
  • Gusano cogollero del maízSpanish
  • Lagarta-do-cartuchoPortuguese
  • 草地貪夜蛾Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the fall armyworm

Other species in the same genus Spodoptera.

Tomato moth

Spodoptera littoralis

NoctuidaeNo free photo yet

Fireworm

Spodoptera eridania

NoctuidaeNo free photo yet

CompareFall armyworm vs Beet armywormFall armyworm vs African armywormFall armyworm vs Tomato mothFall armyworm vs Asian cotton leafworm

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the fall armyworm an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the fall armyworm as invasive in 8 countries, including Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali and Niger. It lists it as introduced in 9 in all.

What kind of animal is the fall armyworm?

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) belongs to the family Noctuidae in the order Lepidoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fall-armyworm

MLA

“Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/fall-armyworm.

BibTeX
@misc{fall_armyworm_2026,
  title = {Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/fall-armyworm},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}