African armyworm "S. exempta" larvae feed almost exclusively on Poaceae, also called Gramineae. Poaceae is a family of flowering grasses which includes cereal grasses and the grasses of grasslands and pastures. The species targets most cereal crops, including maize, sorghum, rice, millet, and other grasses. Young caterpillars are also known to feed on wheat and oat seedlings. The larvae eat the upper and lower surfaces of the plant tissue first, preferring to feed on younger and recently germinated crops. Studies have shown that two larvae can completely consume a 10-day-old maize plant with 6-7 leaves, indicating the devastating potential of a high-density
Largest organisms Largest organisms The largest organisms now found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of an organism's size, such as: mass, volume, area, length, height, or even genome size. Some organisms group together to form a superorganism (such as ants or bees), but such are not classed as single large organisms. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest structure composed of living entities, stretching , but contains many organisms of many types of species. This article lists the largest species for various types of organisms, and mostly considers extant species. The organism sizes listed are frequently considered