Page 622 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Noctuidae
DISTRIBUTION Europe, from Iberia and southern England north to the southern
and eastern coasts of Scandinavia, and east across southern Siberia
to Lake Baikal; Canary Islands; North Africa; the Middle East
through Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and eastern Kazakhstan
HABITAT Dry, open habitats, particularly on calcareous soils, and including
coastal shingle, rocky places, scrub, farmlands, grasslands,
and gardens
HOST PLANTS Many, including Caryophyllaceae, such as campion (Silene spp.);
Fabaceae, such as rest-harrow (Ononis spp.) and Pitch Trefoil
(Psoralea bituminosa); Asteraceae, such as Smooth Hawk’s-beard
(Crepis capillaris); Malvaceae, such as cotton (Gossypium spp.);
and Solanaceae, such as Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

NOTE Caterpillar feeding on owers and seeds, sometimes a crop pest
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated
ADULT WINGSPAN
1¼–1 ⁄ in (32–37 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ –1 ⁄ in (30–35 mm)
HELIOTHIS VIRIPLACA
MARBLED CLOVER
620
(HUFNAGEL, 1766)

The Marbled Clover caterpillar hatches from a domed, ribbed,

whitish egg laid singly on a ower of the food plant. It feeds on

the owers and ripening seedpods and forms a pupa in a slight
cocoon in the ground, which is the overwintering stage. There
are one or two generations annually, the second being sometimes
partial, in July and August and in the fall.

The caterpillars are recorded as pests of crops such as bean and
cotton, but often a closely related species is, in fact, responsible.
Larvae in the genus Heliothis are highly variable, and di erences

between some closely related species are slight, so that the
markings of a single individual can be misleading. The caterpillar
of the Shoulder-striped Clover (H. maritima), which is con ned

to western Europe and highly localized on heathland, coastal
dunes, and saltmarshes, is similar to this species but tends to
show greater contrast in the stripes, as does that of H. adaucta,
a more eastern species.

The Marbled Clover caterpillar is slender,
tapering at both ends. It is green or pale brown
marked with darker brown and has irregular, ne,
pale markings on the back, a pale, central, dark
stripe, and a white or yellow stripe to each side.
Actual size There are one or two broad, yellow or white
stripes lower along the sides.