Chrysodeixis acuta (Walker, 1858)
Tomato Looper
 (one synonym : Plusia diminuta Walker, 1865)
PLUSIINAE,   NOCTUIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

These caterpillars are green or brown. They have some ventral prolegs missing, and move in a looper fashion. The caterpillars are pests, feeding on a wide variety of plants, including:

  • Soybeans ( Glycine max, FABACEAE ),
  • Linseed ( Linum usitatissimum, LINACEAE ),
  • Barley ( Hordeum vulgare, POACEAE ),
  • Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor, POACEAE ), and
  • Tomatoes ( Solanum lycopersicum, SOLANACEAE ).


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

    The adult moth has brown forewings, each with two white spots near the middle. The hindwings are plain brown. There is a greyish streak near the tip of each forewing which is more marked than in the similar species Chrysodeixis erisoma. Also the hair tuft on the tail of the male is brown, whereas it is reddish in Chrysodeixis erisoma. The wingspan is about 4 cms.

    Some semiochemicals of this species have been determined.

    This species occurs across Europe, Africa and Asia, including:

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo,
  • India,
  • Namibia,
  • United Kingdom,

    and in Australia in:

  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Further reading :

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 166.

    Francis Walker,
    Pyralides,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 12 (1858), p. 922-923, No. 75.

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    (updated 18 January 2010, 19 January 2021)