''Anticarsia irrorata'', the owl moth, is a species of

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 ...

in the family Noctuidae.''Anticarsia irrorata'', Owl Moth
Cook Islands Biodiversity Database. The Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust. It is native to the Old World

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...

.''Anticarsia irrorata''.
''The Moths of Borneo''

Description

Its wingspan is about 40–46 mm. Palpi with third joint rather shorter than in the typical section. Male lack tufts on tibia. Hindwings with normal neuration in male, with no fold in inner margin. Antennae of male with bristles and cilia. It is light brownish with darker areas distally. The forewing is marked with a diagonal line and a row of black dots. The hindwing has similar markings. The underside has lighter, brownish dots and a white spot. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

is light green. It has a dorsal line which is dark green with a yellowish center, and wider, spotted lines on either side. The

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae Cycl ...

s are white with black edges. It moves in a looping motion. Anticarsia irrorata at Kadavoor

Ecology

Common food plants include species from many legume genera, including ''

Cajanus The genus ''Cajanus'' is a member of the plant family Fabaceae. There are 37 species, mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Australasia. Species include the pigeon pea (''C. cajan''), which is a significant food crop. ''Cajanus'' speci ...

'', ''

Cicer ''Cicer'' is a genus of the legume family, Fabaceae, and the only genus found in tribe Cicereae. It is included within the IRLC, and its native distribution is across the Middle East and Asia. Its best-known and only domesticated member is ''Ci ...

'', ''

Cyamopsis ''Cyamopsis'' is a genus of the family Fabaceae. Its species are distributed across Africa, Asia and the Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the ...

'', ''

Glycine Glycine (symbol Gly or G; ) is an amino acid that has a single hydrogen atom as its side chain. It is the simplest stable amino acid ( carbamic acid is unstable), with the chemical formula NH2‐ CH2‐ COOH. Glycine is one of the proteinog ...

'', ''

Lablab ''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food.

'', ''

Mucuna ''Mucuna'' is a genus of around 100 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical forests. The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and the flowers are pe ...

'', '' Phaseolus'', and ''

Vigna ''Vigna'' is a genus of plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution.Aitawade, M. M., et al. (2012)Section ''Ceratotropis'' of subgenus ''Ceratotropis'' of ''Vigna'' (Leguminosae–Papilionoideae) in India with a new ...

''. It has also been noted on the melon genus ''

Cucumis __NOTOC__ ''Cucumis'' is a genus of twining, tendril-bearing plants in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes the cucumber (''Cucumis sativus''), muskmelons (''Cucumis melo'', including cantaloupe and honeydew), the horned melon ('' Cucumis ...

'', and

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

es such as '' Andropogon'', ''

Oryza ''Oryza'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It includes the major food crop rice (species ''Oryza sativa'' and ''Oryza glaberrima''). Members of the genus grow as tall, wetland grasses, growing to tall; the genus includes both annual an ...

'', ''

Paspalum ''Paspalum'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. The group is widespread across much of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Commonly known as paspalum, bahiagrasses, crowngrasses or dallis grasses, many of the species are tall pere ...

'', and ''

Saccharum ''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family. The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted oceani ...

''.

References

Catocalinae Moths described in 1781 Moths of Africa Moths of Cape Verde Moths of the Comoros Moths of Asia Moths of Japan Moths of Madagascar Moths of Mauritius Moths of New Zealand Moths of Réunion Moths of São Tomé and Príncipe Moths of Seychelles Moths of the Middle East {{Catocalinae-stub