Tobacco Budworm Moth
Chloridea virescens
Insecta
UNCOMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- Americas
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Uncommon
About
The Tobacco Budworm Moth is a nocturnal insect that feeds exclusively on tobacco plants. It uses its long proboscis to chew holes into the leaves of its host plant, which is why it is commonly found on tobacco fields.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Genus
- Chloridea
- Species
- Chloridea virescens