Red-billed quelea including annual grasses of the genera "Echinochloa", "Panicum", "Setaria", "Sorghum", "Tetrapogon" and "Urochloa". One survey at Lake Chad showed that two thirds of the seeds eaten belonged to only three species: African wild rice ("Oryza barthii"), "Sorghum purpureosericeum" and jungle rice ("Echinochloa colona"). When the supply of these seeds runs out, seeds of cereals such as barley ("Hordeum disticum"), teff ("Eragrostis tef"), sorghum ("Sorghum bicolor"), manna ("Setaria italica"), millet ("Panicum miliaceum"), rice ("Oryza sativa"), wheat ("Triticum"), oats ("Avena aestiva"), as well as buckwheat ("Phagopyrum esculentum") and sunflower ("Helianthus annuus") are eaten on a large scale. Red-billed queleas have also been
Mythimna separata light dorsal stripe, with black-brown lateral stripe along spiracle line. spiracles brown with black rim. Pupae are yellowish brown and shiny. The moth flies from January to April depending on the location. The larvae feed on a range of agricultural plants like "Zea mays", "Sorghum bicolor" and "Oryza sativa" and are thus considered a pest. Caterpillars do not feed on "Momordica charantia" due to the presence of the triterpenoid glucoside called momordicine II, which is a natural inhibitor of caterpillar actions. China experiences periodic outbreaks of northern armyworm infestation. The outbreak in 2012 was particularly severe. Larva can be hand