Disclosed herein are nucleotide sequences encoding an insecticidal protein exhibiting Lepidopteran inhibitory activity, black cutworm (BCW) toxic protein containing chimeras and BCW toxin insecticide, transgenic plants expressing the chimeras or the insecticide, as well as novel insecticidal proteins referred to herein as a BCW 001, BCW 002, BCW 003, and methods for detecting the presence of the nucleotide sequences or the insecticide in a biological sample.