''Mocis frugalis'', the sugarcane looper, is a moth of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. The species was first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

in 1775. It is found in several parts of the world, including

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, West African countries and other Oriental regions. The adult is a fruit piercer and a major pest of crops.

Taxonomy

In a recent publication '' Mocis proverai'', that is found in Africa and on the Arabian peninsula has been promoted to a separate species. Both species can be distinguished by microscopic examination of their

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

Description

Its wingspan is . Male with the hind tibia and tarsi clothed with long thick pile. It has a grey-brown body. Forewing with a diffused dark mark above the centre of vein 1; an oblique postmedial line pale inwardly, red brown outwardly; a submarginal series of black specks. Hindwing with postmedial and diffused submarginal lines. Some specimens have a black spot above inner margin of forewing before the middle. Larva pale yellowish ochreous, with darker lines. Two subdorsal lines present and with a sublateral series of olivaceous spots. The 4th and 5th somites are edged behind with black. Food plants include

Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Af ...

species, ''

Andropogon ''Andropogon'' ( common names: beard grass, bluestem grass, broomsedge) is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as southern Europe and various oceanic islands. Over 100 spec ...

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Eleusine ''Eleusine'' is a genus of Asian, African, and South American plants in the grass family,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 ...

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Panicum ''Panicum'' (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, growi ...

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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 ...

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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 ocean ...

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Sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

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Typhonium ''Typhonium'' is a genus in the family Araceae native to eastern and southern Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. It is most often found growing in wooded areas.Bown, Deni (2000). ''Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family''. Timber Press. . ;Species #'' ...

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Cyperus ''Cyperus'' is a large genus of about 700 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions. Description They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving w ...

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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 proteinogeni ...

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Medicago ''Medicago'' is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover, in the legume family (Fabaceae). It contains at least 87 species and is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean basin. The best-known member of the genus is ...

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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 ...

''. Eggs are darkish green, blotched with dark purple. , ,

References

External links

*Zilli A. (2000)
"African-Arabian and Asian-Pacific ''Mocis frugalis'': Two distinct species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)"
''

European Journal of Entomology ''European Journal of Entomology'' (''EJE'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access scientific journal published by the Czech Academy of Sciences. It covers research in entomology, including Myriapoda, Chelicerata, and terrestrial Crustacea. It w ...

'', jrg. 97, nr. 3, pp. 419–426
Abstract
Moths of Africa 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 Seychelles Moths of the Middle East Moths described in 1775 frugalis Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Insect pests of millets {{Euclidiini-stub