Spodoptera litura (Fabricius, 1775)

(one synonym : Prodenia tasmanica)

Cluster Caterpillar
AMPHIPYRINAE , NOCTUIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )

&
Stella Crossley

(updated 1 July 2010)

egg mass with recently hatched baby Caterpillars

The eggs of this species are normally laid in an irregular furry mass on the underside
of a leaf of a foodplant.

Initially, the Caterpillars are a translucent green with a dark thorax.

first or second instar

The young Caterpillars are smooth-skinned with a pattern of red, yellow, and green
lines, and with a dark patch on the mesothorax. They initially only eat the flesh of
their food leaves, leaving the veins intact.

third instar
(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

Later, as they grow, they eat whole leaves, and even flowers and fruit. They become
brown with three thin yellow lines down the back: one in the middle and one each
side. A row of black dots run along each side, and a conspicuous row of dark triangles
decorate each side of the back.

penultimate instar, lateral view

(Photo: copyright Lyn Finn,
Hunter Region School of Photography in Newcastle,
Macquarie Hills, New South Wales)

They are an international pest and eat nearly any herbaceous plant, including :

Leek ( Allium porrum, ALLIACEAE ),

Elephants Ear ( Alocasia macrorrhizos, ARACEAE ),
Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa, ASTERACEAE ),
Cabbage ( Brassica oleracea, BRASSICACEAE ),
Horsetail She Oak ( Casuarina equisetifolia, CASUARINACAE ),
Beetroot ( Beta vulgaris conditiva, CHENOPODIACEAE ),
Peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea, FABACEAE ),
Geranium ( Pelargonium x zonale, GERANIACEAE ),
Cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum, MALVACEAE ),
Banana ( Musa acuminata, MUSACEAE ),
Fuchsias ( Fuchsia species, ONAGRACEAE ),
Strawberry ( Fragaria ananassa, ROSACEAE ),
Tomatoes ( Lycopersicum esculentum, SOLANACEAE ), and
many other garden plants.

penultimate instar, dorsal view

(Photo: copyright Lyn Finn,
Hunter Region School of Photography in Newcastle,
Macquarie Hills, New South Wales)

The last instar is very dark, with four prominent yellow triangles on the mesothorax.

last instar
(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

When disturbed, the Caterpillar curls into a tight spiral withe the head protected in the
centre.

defensive posture

The Caterpillar burrows into the soil below the plant for several centimetres and there
pupates without a cocoon. As it does so, it produces a quantity of fluid, and will
drown in this if it pupates in captivity in an empty glass jar. It will pupate successfully
if 0.5 cm. of sand is provided in the container. The duration of the pupal stage in
January in Melbourne is three weeks, but Caterpillars that pupate at the end of
summer emerge the following spring.

(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The adult moth is brown with a complex pattern of cream streaks criss-crossing the
fore wings. The hind wings are silvery white. It has a wingspan of about 4 cms.

Male
(Photo: courtesy of Merlin Crossley)
Female
(Photo: courtesy of Nick Monaghan, Tewantin, Queensland)

The males but not the females have a blue-grey band from the apex to the inner
margin of each fore wing. The pheromones of this species have been elucidated.

Female
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

Various methods of control have been investigated :

planting near Derris and Garlic plants,

breeding resistant Groundnuts from Wild Goundnuts ( Arachis kempff-mercadoi ),
breeding resistant plants using bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis genes,
using a Baculovirus ( BACULOVIRIDAE ),
the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae ( STEINERNEMATIDAE ), and
the fly Exorista japonica ( TACHINIDAE ).

Cocos Islands 1982

The species occurs across south-east Asia, including:

Cambodia,
Hong Kong,
India,
the Pacific islands,
as well as
Northern Territory.
New South Wales, and
Western Australia.

penultimate instar, close-up of head

(Photo: copyright Lyn Finn,
Hunter Region School of Photography in Newcastle,
Macquarie Hills, New South Wales)

In Sydney, counts were made of the number of adults coming to a nightly ultra-violet
light, and the numbers totalled for each month of the year :
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
7 8 12 5 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 3

Further reading :

David Carter,
Butterflies and Moths, Collins Eyewitness Handbooks, Sydney 1992, p. 257.

Ian F.B. Common,

Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 34, 34, 38, 65, 461.