caterpillar eating indoor Dendrobium orchid leaf. - Spodoptera dolichos - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Owlet Moths (Noctuidae) » Cutworm or Dart Moths (Noctuinae) » Prodeniini » Armyworm Moths (Spodoptera) » Sweetpotato Armyworm Moth - Hodges#9671 (Spodoptera dolichos)

Photo#511217

Copyright © 2011 bandb

caterpillar eating indoor Dendrobium orchid leaf. - Spodoptera dolichos

Hollywood, Broward County, Florida, USA
April 30, 2011
Size: ~12 mm.

Small Dendrobium orchids on our bathroom window shelf. Window is screened.

The caterpillar has a few short, dark hairs on back, not visible in this image.

Images of this individual: tag all

caterpillar eating indoor Dendrobium orchid leaf. - Spodoptera dolichos

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Contributed by bandb on 2 May, 2011 - 2:07pm
Last updated 30 March, 2012 - 1:51pm

Moved

Moved from Butterflies and Moths.

… Paul Dennehy, 30 March, 2012 - 1:51pm

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Moved

Moved from ID Request.

… Brad Barnd, 19 May, 2011 - 2:51am

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Check out the Yellow-Striped Armyworm

and see what you think, but there's always the chance you have something strange down there in FL

… john and jane balaban, 2 May, 2011 - 5:28pm

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caterpillar eating indoor Dendrobium orchid leaf

Thanks for your prompt reply. It seems that it is as you suggest, a Yellow-striped Armyworm. I rummaged through the links to previously submitted caterpillar images and didn't see any reports from Florida. I have no idea how it might have come to be on the little orchids as we never have seen this caterpillar or its moth, and the orchids have been in the house for many years.

As for something strange down here, Florida is the very definition of strangeness :-)

… bandb, 2 May, 2011 - 9:16pm

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In addition to Yellow-Striped Armyworm

You might also consider Southern Armyworm Moth (Spodoptera eridania):

or Sweetpotato Armyworm Moth (Spodoptera dolichos)http://bugguide.net/node/view/57552/bgimage
or Unbarred Spodoptera (Spodoptera albula)http://bugguide.net/node/view/164441/bgimage
Sorry I couldn't find photos of all of them

… Kelly Fiegle, 3 May, 2011 - 6:31am

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caterpillar eating indoor Dendrobium orchid leaf

Surely some variety of Spodoptera. Our friends at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden are intrigued.

While it is no longer an identification puzzle we remain puzzled as to how the caterpillar got to the orchids. Many thanks to you all.

bandb

… bandb, 3 May, 2011 - 1:54pm

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