Pixel Wild
Lucerne Moth
Lucerne Moth
Nomophila nearctica
Also known as: Celery Stalkworm
Insecta
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
A few weeks
Size
Small
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
North America
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Common

About

A slender, tan-brown grass moth whose larvae feed on lucerne (alfalfa) and clover, earning it status as a minor agricultural pest across North America. At rest it holds its long, narrow wings tent-like and close to its body, with the wingtips swept back in a distinctive triangular silhouette.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
  2. 2.
    caterpillar
    A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
  3. 3.
    cocoon
    A silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
  4. 4.
    moth
    A winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Crambidae
Genus
Nomophila
Species
Nomophila nearctica