Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Noctuidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Subfamily Hadeninae | |
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Similar Bellura densa, Acronicta fallax, Acronicta hasta, Condica vecors, Papaipema | ||
The Elder Shoot Borer Moth or Spindle Worm (Achatodes zeae) is a moth species of the Noctuidae family. The species has been known to taxonomists since at least 1841 but gained notoriety in 1927, when many of the species were found boring into the shoots of the common elder bush (Sambucus nigra) in Wisconsin, USA.
Life Cycle
Adult moths are known to lay eggs in July and August, and eggs hatch approximately 9 months later. Larvae (spindle worms) feed on the leaves they hatch in before moving into lateral shoots of the bush. As they mature they move towards ground shoots and feed upward into the shoots until mid June when they are fully developed and begin to bore into dead canes to pupate.
References
Achatodes zeae Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA