The elder shoot borer moth (''Achatodes zeae''), or spindle worm, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

species of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. The species has been known to taxonomists since at least 1841 but gained notoriety in 1927, when many of the species were found boring into the shoots of the common elder bush ('' Sambucus nigra'') in Wisconsin, USA.

Life Cycle

Adult moths are known to lay eggs in July and August, and eggs hatch approximately 9 months later. Larvae (spindle worms) feed on the leaves they hatch in before moving into lateral shoots of the bush. As they mature they move towards ground shoots and feed upward into the shoots until mid June when they are fully developed and begin to bore into dead canes to pupate.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4673572 Hadeninae Achatodes Moths of North America