Leucania uda

Leucania uda Guenée, 1852
White-spot Armyworm
(one synonym : Cirphis adjuncta Walker, 1869)
HADENINAE, NOCTUIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

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

Leucania uda
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The Caterpillar of this species is brown, with broad dark lines along each side, faint orange shading between segments, and a striped head.

close-up of head and thorax

(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The caterpillar has been found on pasture, so may feed on

Grass ( POACEAE),

and/or herbaceous weeds like

Capeweed (Arctotheca calendula, ASTERACEAE)

pupa
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The pupa is brown.

male
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

female
(Photo: courtesy of David Akers, Won Wron, Victoria)

The adult moths have streaky forewings, each with a white spot near the middle. Male moths also have submarginal arcs of dark dots. Female moths have a narrow dark-edged white line from the base leading to the central spot. The hindwings are white shading to brown at the margins. The moths have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

female
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

This species has been caught in

Queensland,

New South Wales,

Australian Capital Territory,

Victoria,

Tasmania,

South Australia, and

Western Australia.

male, drawing by George Francis Hampson, listed as Cirphis adjuncta,
Catalogue of Lepidoptera Phalænæ in the British Museum,
Noctuidæ, Volume V (1905), Plate XCI, figure 25,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.

female, drawing by George Francis Hampson, listed as Cirphis uda,
Catalogue of Lepidoptera Phalænæ in the British Museum,
Noctuidæ, Volume V (1905), Plate XCI, figure 23,
image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.