Thysanoplusia orichalcea (Fabricius, 1775)
Soybean Looper, Slender Burnished Brass
 (also known as Diachrysia orichalcea Holloway, 1976)
PLUSIINAE,   NOCTUIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


The Caterpillar of this species is a green looper with a yellow dorsal line. It is a global agricultural pest on

  • Sunflowers ( Helianthus annuus, ASTERACEAE),
  • Soybeans ( Glycine max, FABACEAE ), and
  • Potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum, SOLANACEAE ),

    and in Sydney it is a garden pest on :

  • Parsley ( Petroselinum crispum, APIACEAE ).

    It is known to feed on a number of plants for example:

  • Mums ( Chrysanthemum species, ASTERACEAE ),
  • Tickseed ( Coreopsis species, ASTERACEAE ), and
  • Bittersweet ( Solanum dulcamara, SOLANACEAE ).


    (Photo: Don Herbison-Evans, Sydney, New South Wales)

    The forewings of the adult moth are brown, and each has a beautiful golden patch. The hindwings are fawn coloured, darkening towards the margins. The moth has a wingspan of about 4 cms.


    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney)

    The species has been found widely in the old world, for example in

  • Azores,
  • Borneo,
  • India,
  • New Zealand,
  • Spain, and
  • South Africa,

    but not yet (as of 2025) in the Americas.

    It has only recently been found in Australia. The first recorded sighting being in 1976 in Queensland. The pictured specimen was caught in Sydney in 1998.

    It has now been found in Australia in:

  • Queensland,
  • Norfolk Island,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Teritory,
  • Victoria,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.


    Ascension Island, 1988

    The pheromones for this species have been determined. As an agricultural pest, attempts are being made to control it using:

  • floral attractants,
  • a Baculovirus,
  • the wasp Copidosoma floridanum (ENCYRTIDAE), and
  • the wasp Cotesia ruficrus (BRACONIDAE).

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 22.1, pp. 65, 460.

    Johan Christian Fabricius,
    Historiae Natvralis Favtoribvs,
    Systema Entomologiae,
    1775, p. 607, No. 70.

    Peter Marriott & Marilyn Hewish
    Moths of Victoria - Part 9,
    Cutworms and Allies - NOCTUOIDEA (C)    ,
    Entomological Society of Victoria, 2020, pp. 8-9.

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

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 197.

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    (updated 10 August 2011, 20 December 2025)