''Earias insulana'', the Egyptian stemborer, Egyptian bollworm, spiny bollworm or cotton spotted bollworm, 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 ...

of the family

Nolidae Nolidae is a family of moths with about 1,700 described species worldwide. They are mostly small with dull coloration, the main distinguishing feature being a silk cocoon with a vertical exit slit. The group is sometimes known as tuft moths, aft ...

. The species was first described by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomol ...

in 1833. It is found in most of Africa, southern Europe, the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. It is a rare in immigrant in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 20–22 mm. Adults show strong seasonal polymorphism, depending on the temperature. Two distinct forms are present in some areas: a bright green summer form and a brownish-yellow autumn form. The larvae feed on okra, cotton and hibiscus, but have also been recorded on rice, sugarcane and corn. Initially, larvae tunnel into the buds of their host plant. Later, the larvae feeds on the bolls, which become brown and fall off. Secondary invasion by fungi and bacteria sometimes occurs. Full-grown larvae are 13–18 mm long and their wingspan is generally about 24–28 mm. It can be confused with the cream-bordered green pea (''

Earias clorana ''Earias clorana'', the cream-bordered green pea, is a moth of the family Nolidae. It is found in most of Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to the Urals and Western Siberia. Technical description and variation ''Earis chlorana'' L. (= ''vi ...

'') or the spiny bollworm (''

Earias biplaga ''Earias biplaga'', the spiny bollworm, is a moth in the family Nolidae. The species was Species description, first described by Francis Walker (entomologist), Francis Walker in 1866. It is found throughout subtropical Africa including Atlantic a ...

'')."74.012 [B&F: 2420] Egyptian Bollworm (''Earias insulana'') (Boisduval, 1833)"
''Hantsmoths''. Pupation takes place in a felt-like cocoon, which is attached to dry leaves of the food plant or to plant debris on the ground. Typically, the pupal stage takes 9–15 days, but may extend to up to two months if development is delayed by low temperatures.

References

External links

*
''Lepiforum e.V.''
Nolidae Moths described in 1833 Moths of Europe Moths of Cape Verde Moths of Africa Moths of the Comoros Moths of Japan Moths of Madagascar Moths of Mauritius Moths of the Middle East Moths of Réunion Moths of Asia Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval {{Nolidae-stub