Spodoptera picta

Spodoptera picta (Guerin-Meneville, [1831])
Lily Caterpillar
(formerly known as Polia picta)
ACRONICTINAE, NOCTUIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Spodoptera picta
(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney)

These Caterpillars are smooth-skinned and pale grey with a series of longitudinal black lines, and with dark patches on the mesothorax and the last abdominal segment. The central dorsal line becomes yellow in later instars .

(Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, College Street, Sydney, New South Wals)

They are a pest in suburban gardens in Sydney, damaging a variety of species from the Amaryllis family (AMARYLLIDACEAE), including :

Kaffir Lily ( Clivea miniata ),

Swamp Lily ( Crinum pedunculatum ),

Spider Lily ( Hymenocallis littoralis ), and

Amaryllis ( Hippeastrum species ).

(Photo: courtesy of David Rentz, Kuranda, Queensland)

The caterpillars eat the leaves often in a group, and then bore rapidly down into the crown of the bulb, creating a mushy soup of caterpillar poo, killing the plant.

(Photo: courtesy of David Rentz, Kuranda, Queensland)

The caterpillars grow to a length of about 5 cms. They pupate with no cocoon in the soil near the food plant.

(Specimen: courtesy of Daniel Brown, Meadowbank, New South Wales)

The pupa is brown and has a length of about 2 cms.

(Photo: by Debs Raymont, Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, courtesy of Boris Branwhite)

The adult moth is very pretty. The forewings are buff with a pattern of red and black markings. The hindwings are plain buff coloured. The body is brown. The moth has a wingspan of about 4 cms.