Ctenoplusia limbirena

Ctenoplusia limbirena (Guenée, 1852)
Scar Bank Gem
(formerly known as Plusia limbirena)
PLUSIINAE, NOCTUIDAE, NOCTUOIDEA

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

(Photo: courtesy of Tonton Bernardo)

This Caterpillar is green, often with thin pale lines along the body, and a curved black stripe each side of its head.

close-up of head and fore true-legs
(Photo: courtesy of Heather Jordan, Braddon, Australian Capital Territory)

The six true-legs under the thorax appear to be transparent. The caterpillar is missing the first two pairs of prolegs, so walks in a looper fashion.

(Photo: courtesy of Heather Jordan, Braddon, Australian Capital Territory)

It has been found feeding on plants in many families, including

Mint (Mentha species, ( LAMIACEAE),

Marshmallow (Althea species, ( MALVACEAE), and

Tobacco (Nicotiana species, ( SOLANACEAE).

(Photo: courtesy of Heather Jordan, Braddon, Australian Capital Territory)

The caterpillar pupates in a green pupa in an fluffy white cocoon, under a leaf of the foodplant.

(Photo: courtesy of the Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moth has grey or brown forewings, each with a complex silver 'Y' near the middle, and a pale patch at the middle of the margin. The hindwings are off-white shading to brown at the margins. There are bunched hairs on the thorax. The wingspan is about 4 cms.

The species is found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia, including:

and in Australia in

New South Wales, and

Australian Capital Territory.

(Photo: courtesy of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)