Page 630 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Noctuidae
DISTRIBUTION Central Europe into southwest Russia, Georgia, and Turkey
HABITAT Dry, open steppe, grasslands, and undisturbed areas around
cultivated elds

HOST PLANTS Spurge (Euphorbia spp.)

NOTE Caterpillar from the steppes of Europe that e ectively
defoliates spurge
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common

ADULT WINGSPAN
⁄ –1 ⁄ in (24–27 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1–1 ⁄ in (25–30 mm)
OXICESTA GEOGRAPHICA
GEOGRAPHICAL MOTH
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(FABRICIUS, 1787)

The Geographical Moth caterpillars hatch from eggs laid in
large batches of around 300 on the underside of leaves of the
host plant. The larvae are gregarious at rst, living together in

groups of up to 30. They spin a silken web over the host plant,
feeding rst on the ower buds and young leaves before moving

on to the older leaves, capable of defoliating the whole plant.
The fth instar is solitary and pupates in a pale yellow cocoon

that it spins on a stem. The species overwinters as a pupa.

The moths appear in April and May, and there is usually a single
generation. Trials have been conducted into the use of Oxicesta
geographica as a biological control agent for leafy spurge
(Euphorbia esula), an aggressive perennial weed found across
North America, where it is a major problem on grasslands and
has proved resistant to control through herbicides.

The Geographical Moth caterpillar is dark
brown, with two white, lateral stripes and a series
Actual size of transverse, orange bars. The spiracles are
ringed in white. There are tufts of white and
brown hairs, and the head is dark brown.