Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Noctuidae Scientific name Elaphria nucicolora | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Elaphria Rank Species | |
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Similar Elaphria, Elaphria versicolor, Elaphria agrotina, Spodoptera dolichos, Callopistria floridensis | ||
The Sugarcane Midget (Elaphria nucicolora) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from the south-eastern United States (Florida to North Carolina, west to Texas), through Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to tropical South America (Peru and French Guyana). It is also present on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii.
The wingspan is about 21 mm. Adults are wing from June to November in Georgia and may be present year-round in Florida and the tropics.
Larvae have been recorded feeding on watermelon, Emilia flammea, Euphorbia hirta, Portulaca oleracea, Synedrella nodiflora as well as sugarcane. The caterpillar is nearly uniform dark fuscous, variegated with black.
References
Elaphria nucicolora Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA