1.   The pesticide killed off weevils and other insects, leaving the army worm to multiply unchecked by its natural enemies.

2.   Army worms are doing the most damage in the Coastal Bend and East Texas, although they are reported in most Central Texas counties, agricultural extension agents said.

3.   Army worms also hit the Coastal Bend, but the farmers there were ready for them with new chemicals, Buehring said.

4.   Beginning in May, the cotton crop was attacked by beet army worms, a pest that typically preys on fruit and vegetables but also can devastate cotton.

5.   Infestations of the boll worm and beet army worm in Mississippi and southern Alabama are also causing concerns that the crop there could be damaged.

6.   Langford saw a few army worms at the edge of his oat field one evening.

7.   One of the big causes was damage by the beet army worm.

8.   Others theorize that frontal storms, tracking up the coast, pushed into the area greater numbers of moths, which in turn laid eggs that became army worms.

9.   The beet army worm is attacking cotton fields in the Rio Grande Valley, stripping plants of leaves and bolls with more than a month left before harvest.

10.   The beet army worm, which is tough to kill with insecticides, hit hardest on the Memorial Day weekend, said entomologist John Norman of Weslaco.