Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Genus Megalographa Phylum Arthropoda Order Butterflies and moths | Subphylum Hexapoda Family Noctuidae Scientific name Megalographa biloba Rank Species | |
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Similar Butterflies and moths, Autographa precationis, Rachiplusia ou, Allagrapha aerea, Galgula partita | ||
Stephens' gem or the bilobed looper (Megalographa biloba) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is widely distributed from the southern parts of the United States, south through Central America and South America up to Argentina. As a seasonal migrant it occurs even farther north into the northern parts of the United States and southern Canada. Here it usually produces one or two generations each summer, but rarely survives the winter this far north. It also occurs in the Hawaiian Islands but it is unknown if the species occurs there naturally or was introduced. It has also been recorded in Great Britain, where it is either a rare migrant or introduced by travel on ships crossing the Atlantic.
The wingspan is 38–44 mm.
It is sometimes considered a pest on cultivated lettuce.
