Kingdom Animalia Family Noctuidae Scientific name Tiracola plagiata Rank Species | Class Insecta Genus Tiracola Phylum Arthropoda Order Butterflies and moths | |
Similar Butterflies and moths, Anticarsia irrorata, Hydrillodes, Callopistria maillardi, Spodoptera mauritia | ||
The Cacao Armyworm (Tiracola plagiata) is a species of moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from south-east Asia, South India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar to the south pacific islands, including the northern two-thirds of Australia.
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Description
The wingspan is about 60 mm. Antennae of male minutely ciliated. Fore wings with strongly toothed cilia. Body pale greyish brown and abdomen fuscous in color. Fore wings often suffused with red-brown and irrorated with dark brown. There is an antemedial waved indistinct line which often obsolete. Orbicular also obsolete, whereas reniform almost obsolete, ochreous or fuscous, sometimes on a dark patch. There is a traces of a postmedial curved series of black specks. A submarginal doubly curved ochreous line can be seen, accompany with a marginal black specks series as well. Hind wings are fuscous with whitish cilia.
Larva dull violet-brown in color with a few fine dorsal hairs. A few scattered grey dots and a sub-lateral pale olivaceous band from fourth somite. Head and legs violet-grey. Head small and anal somite conical. Pupa dark red in color.
Ecology
It is an international fruit pest, particularly for Musa acuminata. Larvae have also been recorded on various other plants, including Dioscorea species, Diplocyclos palmatus, Toona australis, Eucalyptus, Portulaca oleracea, Phytolacca octandra Theobroma cacao, Coffea arabica, and Physalis ixocarpa.