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Species Achatodes zeae - Elder Shoot Borer - Hodges#9520

Unknown brownish red and orange moth - Achatodes zeae Elder Shoot Borer - Achatodes zeae Achatodes zeae Elder Shoot Borer (Achatodes zeae)  - Achatodes zeae Achatodes zeae Pennsylvania Moth - Achatodes zeae Achatodes zeae Lépidoptère - Achatodes zeae
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)
Tribe Apameini
Genus Achatodes
Species zeae (Elder Shoot Borer - Hodges#9520)
Hodges Number
9520
Other Common Names
The larvae are called spindle worm.
Perceur du sureau - En français… Ilze V-G.
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Achatodes zeae (Harris, 1841)
Gortyna zeae Harris, 1841
Phylogenetic sequence # 932444 (1)
Numbers
The only species in this genus in North America.
Identification
Forewing dark reddish with silvery gray patches; orange patch at apex; a double row of black spots forms a partial subterminal line.
Range
Eastern North America.
Habitat
Found near host plants in agricultural or suburban areas.
Season
adults fly from July to September
Food
The larvae bore into stems of elderberry, corn, dahlia, and grasses.
Print References
Silver, J.C. 1933. Biology and morphology of the spindle worm, or elder borer. USDA Techical Bulletin #345. Washington, D.C. PDF