Noctuoidea: Noctuidae: Heliothinae: Chloridea virescens (Fabricius)
tobacco budworm
Heliothis virescens, Heliothis spectanda, Phalaena rhexiae, Xanthia prasina, Xanthia viridescens
Pogue (2013)Pogue (2013):
Pogue, M. G. 2013. Revised status of Chloridea Duncan and (Westwood), 1841, for the Heliothis virescens species group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae) based on morphology and three genes. Systematic Entomology 38: 523-542. resurrected the genus Chloridea for virescens, subflexa, tergemina, and ten other species formally placed in Heliothis. More information on this change is found in the Taxonomy section under the Detailed Information tab.
Chloridea virescens is most commonly recorded (80% of records) from the three countries listed here. Identifications from Peru are tentative as C. virescens may be confused with other Heliothinae (e.g., C. tergemina) in South America (see the Detailed Information tab):
| Origin | Host(s) |
|---|---|
| Haiti | Cajanus |
| Mexico | Cicer, Physalis, Zea mays |
| Peru | Pisum |
Chloridea virescens is widely distributed across the United States and southern Canada, although it does not survive the winter in northern states. This species is also present in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean (Poole et al. 1993Poole et al. 1993:
Poole, R. W., C. Mitter and M. D. Huettel. 1993. A revision and cladistic analysis of the Heliothis virescens species-group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with a preliminary morphometric analysis of H. virescens. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 185. Mississippi Entomological Museum 4. 51 pp.).
Larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of C. virescens can be identified to species using the above morphological characters if from North America, Central America, the Caribbean, or Hawaii. Identification to species in South America is often not possible because of potential confusion with C. tergemina, so it is safer to stop at genus Chloridea. There are no records of C. virescens outside of the Americas (and Hawaii).
In a recent publication, Pogue (2013)Pogue (2013):
Pogue, M. G. 2013. Revised status of Chloridea Duncan and (Westwood), 1841, for the Heliothis virescens species group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae) based on morphology and three genes. Systematic Entomology 38: 523-542. determined that the Heliothis group was not monophyletic, with H. virescens and H. subflexa forming a clade separate from other members of the genus. To resolve this problem he resurrected the genus Chloridea for virescens, subflexa, tergemina, and ten other species formally placed in Heliothis. His evidence was based on a phylogenetic analysis incorporating three gene regions as well as morphological characters and his results agreed with an earlier study performed by Cho et al. (2008). Here we follow this latest taxonomy and use the combination Chloridea virescens to refer to the tobacco budworm.
The larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of the tobacco budworm, Chloridea virescens, was at least partially described by Garman (1920)Garman (1920):
Garman, H. 1920. Observations on the structure and coloration of the larval corn-ear worm (Chloridea obsoleta), the bud worm (Chloridea virescens) and a few other lepidopterous larvae. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 227: 55-84., Crumb (1956)Crumb (1956):
Crumb, S. E. 1956. The Larvae of the Phalaenidae. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1135. 356 pp., Okumura (1961)Okumura (1961):
Okumura, G. T. 1961. Identification of lepidopterous larvae attacking cotton. California Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology Special Publication 282. 80 pp., Peterson (1962)Peterson (1962):
Peterson, A. 1962. Larvae of insects: an introduction to Nearctic species. Part I: Lepidoptera and plant infesting Hymenoptera. Columbus, Ohio. 315 pp., Neunzig (1969)Neunzig (1969):
Neunzig, H. H. 1969. The biology of the tobacco budworm and the corn earworm in North Carolina with particular reference to tobacco as a host. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 196. 76 pp., Godfrey (1987)Godfrey (1987):
Godfrey, G. L. 1987. Noctuidae (Noctuoidea), pp. 549-578. In F. W Stehr (ed.). Immature Insects. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. Dubuque, Iowa., Matthews (1991)Matthews (1991):
Matthews, M. 1991. Classification of the Heliothinae. Natural Resources Institute. Bulletin 44. 195 pp., Sannino et al. (1993), and Hardwick (1996)Hardwick (1996):
Hardwick, D. F. 1996. A Monograph to the North American Heliothentinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Almonte, Ontario [privately published]. 281 pp.. Several larval color patterns were photographed by Hardwick (1996)Hardwick (1996):
Hardwick, D. F. 1996. A Monograph to the North American Heliothentinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Almonte, Ontario [privately published]. 281 pp., Cranshaw (2004)Cranshaw (2004):
Cranshaw, W. 2004. Garden Insects of North America. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. 678 pp., Angulo et al. (2006)Angulo et al. (2006):
Angulo A. O., T. S. Olivares and G. Th. Weigert. 2006. Estados inmaduros de Lepidopteros noctuidos de importancia economica agricola y forestal en Chile (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Impresos Siglo Veintiuno Ltda. Concepcion, Chile. 154 pp., and Wagner et al. (2011)Wagner et al. (2011):
Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. B. Sullivan and R. C. Reardon. 2011. Owlet caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. 576 pp.. Early literature was reviewed Kogan et al. (1978)Kogan et al. (1978):
Kogan, J., D. K. Sell, R. E. Stinner, J. R. Bradley Jr. and M. Kogan. 1978. A Bibliography of Heliothis zea (Boddie) and H. virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). International Soybean Program series 17. Urbana, Illinois. 242 pp.. Passoa (2007)Passoa (2007):
Passoa, S. 2007. Quarantine significant Lepidoptera of concern to the southern United States. Southern Plant Diagnostic Network Invasive Arthropod Workshop. May 7-9 2007. Clemson University. Clemson, South Carolina. gave a tentative key to separate C. virescens from other quarantine species of Heliothinae.
Typically, C. virescens has a large retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
on the mandible and the dorsal pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
of A1, A2 and A8 are covered with microspinesmicrospines:
minute spines on the body, usually visible only under magnification
. The dorsal pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
of A1 and A2 may be connected by a dark bar (Hardwick 1966), but this is not always true for the large volume of specimens intercepted by APHIS or a large series of preserved larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
from a USDA lab culture (SPIC).
Mandibular terminology can cause confusion. The retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
is a projection, sometimes toothlike, on the oral surface of the mandible (Stehr 1987). Various authors have used the term basal tooth, basal process (Crumb 1956Crumb 1956:
Crumb, S. E. 1956. The Larvae of the Phalaenidae. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1135. 356 pp., Boyer et al. 1977Boyer et al. 1977:
Boyer, W. P., J. G. Burleigh and M. L. Wall. 1977. Larval characters for separating bollworm and tobacco budworm. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 70: 5-6.) or inner tooth (Godfrey 1987Godfrey 1987:
Godfrey, G. L. 1987. Noctuidae (Noctuoidea), pp. 549-578. In F. W Stehr (ed.). Immature Insects. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. Dubuque, Iowa.) to describe the retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
of C. virescens. Here we follow Passoa (1985)Passoa (1985):
Passoa, S. 1985. Taxonomy of the larvae and pupae of economically important Pyralidae in Honduras. Master's Thesis. University of Florida. Gainesville. 486 pp. who restricted the term inner tooth to the small toothlike projections on a mandibular ridge. Larger projections on the oral surface are called a retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
, as in Stehr (1987) and Okumura (1961)Okumura (1961):
Okumura, G. T. 1961. Identification of lepidopterous larvae attacking cotton. California Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology Special Publication 282. 80 pp..
The retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
of C. virescens is usually well developed, but depending on the diet (Boyer et al. 1977Boyer et al. 1977:
Boyer, W. P., J. G. Burleigh and M. L. Wall. 1977. Larval characters for separating bollworm and tobacco budworm. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 70: 5-6.), it may be reduced to a thin ridge or groove called a mandibular scar. When the retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
is well developed, H. zea, can be eliminated as a possibility because it never has a large retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
on the mandible. Brazzel et al. (1953)Brazzel et al. (1953):
Brazzel J. R., L. D. Newsom, J. S. Roussel, C. Lincoln, F. J. Williams and G. Barnes. 1953. Bollworm and tobacco budworm as cotton pests in Louisiana and Arkansas. Louisiana Technical Bulletin 482. 47 pp. and Neunzig (1969: 11) illustrated the mandibular variation of C. virescens. Because of this variation, presence of microspinesmicrospines:
minute spines on the body, usually visible only under magnification
covering the dorsal pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
of A8 is the most accurate way to identify C. virescens (Boyer et. al 1977).
A pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
is called a chalazachalaza:
a simple, sclerotized, elevated projection, usually bearing a single seta
if it is elevated and conical (Stehr 1987). Because there is a continuous variation in height from a pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
to a chalazachalaza:
a simple, sclerotized, elevated projection, usually bearing a single seta
in larval Heliothis/Helicoverpa, we have chosen the more general term, pinaculumpinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
, for all of these situations. Peterson (1962: L36) used chalazaechalaza:
a simple, sclerotized, elevated projection, usually bearing a single seta
in his descriptions of Heliothinae.
Separation of C. virescens from H. zea is discussed in the data sheet for H. zea. The presence of a mandibular retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
and microspinesmicrospines:
minute spines on the body, usually visible only under magnification
on the body pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
separates most C. virescens from most H. zea. The reduced retinacum in C. virescens and presence of microspinesmicrospines:
minute spines on the body, usually visible only under magnification
on the edge of the pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
in H. zea are the usual exceptions.
Chloridea virescens is associated with several species of Physalis (Robinson et al. 2002Robinson et al. 2002:
Robinson G. S., P. R. Ackery, I. J. Kitching, G. W. Beccaloni and L. M. Hernandez. 2002. Hostplants of the moth and butterfly caterpillars of America north of Mexico. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 69. 824 pp.) where it can be confused with C. subflexa, a Physalis specialist. The SD2 setaseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
is surrounded by a sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
area in C. subflexa but not in C. virescens (Peterson 1962: L36, Wagner et al. 2011Wagner et al. 2011:
Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. B. Sullivan and R. C. Reardon. 2011. Owlet caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. 576 pp.).
Typically, Heliothis phloxiphaga has conical pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
all over the body. Conical pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
in C. virescens, if present, are only on A1, A2 and A8. Some specimens of H. phloxiphaga can be recognized by having dark arcs on the head (Crumb 1926Crumb 1926:
Crumb, S. E. 1926. The Nearctic budworms of the lepidopterous genus Heliothis. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 68: 1-8.) or pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
ringed with white (Lange and Michelbacher 1937Lange and Michelbacher 1937:
Lange, W. H. and A. E. Michelbacher. 1937. Two closely related species of Heliothis found in tomato fields of central California. The Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, State of California 26: 320-325.).
As with H. zea, only the mid- to last instars can be identified by the mandible and cuticle microspinesmicrospines:
minute spines on the body, usually visible only under magnification
. First and second instars should be left at subfamily or consult Neunzig (1969)Neunzig (1969):
Neunzig, H. H. 1969. The biology of the tobacco budworm and the corn earworm in North Carolina with particular reference to tobacco as a host. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 196. 76 pp. if there is a reason to separate C. virescens and H. zea as early instars. For the quarantine decisions in the United States, C. virescens, H. zea, C. subflexa, and H. phloxiphaga all have the same action status, thus efforts to identify earlier instars is usually not justified.
Identification of C. virescens in South America is complicated because the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of C. tergemina is poorly known. Hallman (1978)Hallman (1978):
Hallman, G. 1978. Claves taxonomicas para las especies de Heliothis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) en Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Entomologia 4: 61-69. suggested that the two species can be separated by the height of dorsal pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
on A1 and A2; they are equal in C. virescens but at least 2.5 times as high as the neighboring segments in C. tergemina. Clearly, this character will not be valid for many PPQ samples. Matthews (1991:41) compared a series of Heliothinae larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
using photographs. From his figures (Matthews 1991: figs. 696, 697), the hypopharyngeal complexhypopharyngeal complex:
a structure consisting of the Hypopharynx, Labial palpi, and Spinneret
of C. virescens has a spinose distaldistal:
toward the tip or end; farthest from the body
region followed by more than ten bladesblades:
thick flat spines on the proximolateral region of the hypophayngeal complex
. In contrast, the distaldistal:
toward the tip or end; farthest from the body
region of the hypophargngeal complex of C. tergemina is smooth dorsally and there are less than ten bladesblades:
thick flat spines on the proximolateral region of the hypophayngeal complex
. The mandible of C. virescens is rectangular, not square like as in C. tergemina (Matthews 1991: figs. 711, 712). Matthews (1991)Matthews (1991):
Matthews, M. 1991. Classification of the Heliothinae. Natural Resources Institute. Bulletin 44. 195 pp. did illustrate cuticle texture, but comparisons are premature unless one can be sure the photos are the same view from the same areas of the body.
The key to Chiliean noctuids by Angulo et al. (2006)Angulo et al. (2006):
Angulo A. O., T. S. Olivares and G. Th. Weigert. 2006. Estados inmaduros de Lepidopteros noctuidos de importancia economica agricola y forestal en Chile (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Impresos Siglo Veintiuno Ltda. Concepcion, Chile. 154 pp. included C. virescens but not C. tergemina. Beardsley (1982)Beardsley (1982):
Beardsley, J. W. Jr. 1982. A key to the late instar larvae of some Hawaiian Noctuidae. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 24: 37-49. used the mandible and presence of microspinesmicrospines:
minute spines on the body, usually visible only under magnification
on the dorsal pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
to identify C. virescens in Hawaii.
Chloridea virescens is highly polyphagous and widely distributed, but there are no records outside of the Americas except for Hawaii. Using the mandible and microspine distribution characters discussed above, C. virescens can be identified to species from North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Hawaii.
It should be noted that H. phloxiphaga occurs only as far south as Mexico, and is quite rare in United States port interceptions. The other species (H. zea, C. virescens, and C. subflexa) are commonly intercepted.
Identification of C. virescens from South America is often not possible because of potential confusion with C. tergemina. We will give suggestions as a guide, but it is safer to stop at genus Heliothis. Hallman (1978)Hallman (1978):
Hallman, G. 1978. Claves taxonomicas para las especies de Heliothis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) en Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Entomologia 4: 61-69. noted that C. tergemina was collected only from tobacco in Colombia. Poole et al. (1993)Poole et al. (1993):
Poole, R. W., C. Mitter and M. D. Huettel. 1993. A revision and cladistic analysis of the Heliothis virescens species-group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with a preliminary morphometric analysis of H. virescens. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 185. Mississippi Entomological Museum 4. 51 pp. added Solanum as a host, but there are no records outside the Solanaceae. Thus, specimens from non-solanaceous hosts are most likely C. virescens if other characters fit. Origin is most helpful. It is possible to identify C. virescens from Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana because C. tergemina does not occur in these countries (Poole et al. 1993Poole et al. 1993:
Poole, R. W., C. Mitter and M. D. Huettel. 1993. A revision and cladistic analysis of the Heliothis virescens species-group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with a preliminary morphometric analysis of H. virescens. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 185. Mississippi Entomological Museum 4. 51 pp.). The morphological characters we list to separate C. virescens from C. tergemina all need confirmation.
Interceptions from Chile are best left at subfamily Heliothinae. Jana-Saenz and Angulo (1985)Jana-Saenz and Angulo (1985):
Jana-Saenz, C. and A. O. Angulo. 1985. Analisis de la posicion taxonomica de Chloridea chilensis Hampson, 1903, noctuido nativo de importancia economica (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Boletin de la Sociedad de Biologia de Concepcion 56: 145-149. stated that there is a complex of native species associated with economic plants in that country, Schinia chilensis being an example. Without larval morphology, hostplant information or even the number of species in the complex, it is hard to know how useful Angulo et al. (2006)Angulo et al. (2006):
Angulo A. O., T. S. Olivares and G. Th. Weigert. 2006. Estados inmaduros de Lepidopteros noctuidos de importancia economica agricola y forestal en Chile (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Impresos Siglo Veintiuno Ltda. Concepcion, Chile. 154 pp. would be to PPQ for identification of Heliothinae.
Consult Passoa (2007)Passoa (2007):
Passoa, S. 2007. Quarantine significant Lepidoptera of concern to the southern United States. Southern Plant Diagnostic Network Invasive Arthropod Workshop. May 7-9 2007. Clemson University. Clemson, South Carolina. for further details on other Heliothis likely to be confused with C. virescens in South America. Besides a need to study the fauna in Chile, Poole et al. (1993)Poole et al. (1993):
Poole, R. W., C. Mitter and M. D. Huettel. 1993. A revision and cladistic analysis of the Heliothis virescens species-group (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with a preliminary morphometric analysis of H. virescens. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 185. Mississippi Entomological Museum 4. 51 pp. pointed out C. tergemina is a group of three distinct populations. Hallman (1978)Hallman (1978):
Hallman, G. 1978. Claves taxonomicas para las especies de Heliothis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) en Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Entomologia 4: 61-69. left one larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
as "unknown" in his key. The fauna of South America is in need of more study.
Chloridea virescens has been intercepted from the following locations:
Anguila, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis (?), St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago
Identifications from Peru are tentative as C. virescens may be confused with other Heliothinae (e.g., C. tergemina) in South America
Chloridea virescens has been intercepted on the following hosts:
Abelmoschus esculentus, Abelmoschus sp., Acacia sp., Achillea sp., Allium fistulosum, Anigozanthos sp., Antirrhinum majus, Antirrhinum sp., Apium graveolens, Aster sp., Brassica campestris, Brassica sp., Brunia sp., Cajanus cajan, Campanula sp., Capsicum annuum, Capsicum sp., Carica papaya, Chrysanthemum sp., Cicer arietinum, Cicer sp., Citrus sp., Cucurbita sp., Delphinium sp., Fabaceae, Fragaria sp., Helianthus annuus, Helianthus sp., Hydrangea sp., Lablab purpureus, Lablab sp., Lactuca sp., Lagenaria siceraria, Limonium sp., Mentha sp., Moluccella sp., Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum sp., Opuntia sp., Origanum majorana, Origanum sp., Origanum vulgare, Phaseolus lunatus, Phaseolus sp., Phaseolus vulgaris, Physalis philadelphica, Physalis pubescens, Physalis sp., Pisum sativum, Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon, Pisum sp., Pithecellobium dulce, Saccharum officinarum, Salvia officinalis, Solanaceae, Solanum lycopersicum var lycopersicum, Solanum melongena, Thymus vulgaris, Tulipa sp., Vicia faba, Vigna unguiculata, Zea mays, Zingiberaceae
Click here to download a full-size printable PDF of this larval setal map
Click here to download a PDF of this fact sheet content and images
