''Spodoptera pecten'' 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 ...
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 othe ...
found from the Indo-Australian tropics to
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
. It has also been recorded from
Japan 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 ...
.
The larvae feed on various grasses, but have also been recorded feeding on the seeds of ''
Shorea curtisii''.
The fully grown larva is brownish or greenish grey with paler dorsal and subdorsal stripes, the latter edged above with black lunules. There is a pale spiracular stripe edged above by purple.
Pupation takes place in the soil in a slight earthen cocoon.
See also
*
African armyworm
The African armyworm (''Spodoptera exempta''), also called ''okalombo'', ''kommandowurm'', or nutgrass armyworm, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. The larvae often exhibit marching behavior when traveling to feeding sites, leading to ...
(''Spodoptera exempta'')
External links
Moths of Borneo
Spodoptera
Moths described in 1852
Moths of Japan
Taxa named by Achille Guenée
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