Classification

Noctuoidea: Noctuidae: Noctuinae (s.l.): Mamestra brassicae (Linnaeus)

Common name

cabbage moth

Synonyms

Phalaena omicron, Noctua albidilinea, Hypobarathra unicolor

Larval diagnosis (Detailed)

Various instars of the cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae, were described in detail by Sannino and Espinosa (1999)Sannino and Espinosa (1999):
Sannino, L. and B. Espinosa. 1999. Morphological notes on Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Il Tabacco 7: 13-24.. Other morphological details were illustrated by Weisman (1986)Weisman (1986):
Weisman, D. M. 1986. Keys for the identification of some frequently intercepted lepidopterous larvae. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine series 81-47. 64 pp., Merzheevskaya (1988)Merzheevskaya (1988):
Merzheevskaya, O. I. 1988. Larvae of the owlet moths (Noctuidae). [English translation edited by G. L. Godfrey]. Amerind Publishing Co. New Delhi, India. 419 pages., Beck (1999-2000), and Ahola and Silvonen (2008)Ahola and Silvonen (2008):
Ahola, M. and K. Silvonen. [2008]. Larvae of Northern European Noctuidae. Volume 2. KuvaSeppala Group Limited. Vaasa, Finland. 672 pp.. Gomez de Aizpurua (2002)Gomez de Aizpurua (2002):
Gomez de Aizpurua, C. 2002. Orugas y mariposas de Europa. Tomo V. Heterocera. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente. Parques Nacionales. 352 pp., Porter (1997)Porter (1997):
Porter, J. 1997. The Colour Identification Guide to Caterpillars of the British Isles. Viking Press London. 275 pp., Beck (1999-2000), and Ahola and Silvonen [2008] illustrated the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
in color.

Weisman (1986)Weisman (1986):
Weisman, D. M. 1986. Keys for the identification of some frequently intercepted lepidopterous larvae. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine series 81-47. 64 pp. used several characters to recognize M. brassicae. These included having a retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
(= basal process, inner tooth) on the mandible and both SD setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
of the mesothoraxmesothorax:
the second thoracic segment
and metathoraxmetathorax:
the third thoracic segment
connected to a tonofibrillary platelettonofibrillary platelet:
a small, external, flattened, sclerotized area of the integument associated with muscle attachment
(= muscle attachment) by a minute dark bar. Beck (1999-2000), in his revision of European noctuid larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
, added the following morphological features: spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
about four times as long as first segment of labial palpilabial palpus:
a pair of small, segmented sensory structures arising on the distolateral portions of the labium
, sixteen stout spinelike bladesblades:
thick flat spines on the proximolateral region of the hypophayngeal complex
present on the hypopharyngeal complexhypopharyngeal complex:
a structure consisting of the Hypopharynx, Labial palpi, and Spinneret
and abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
with a sclerotized shieldshield:
a sclerotized plate covering part of the dorsum of a segment
. The mouthpart drawings in Ahola and Silvonen [2008: 570] agree with Beck's (1999) description. A long spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
was used by Merzheevskaya (1988)Merzheevskaya (1988):
Merzheevskaya, O. I. 1988. Larvae of the owlet moths (Noctuidae). [English translation edited by G. L. Godfrey]. Amerind Publishing Co. New Delhi, India. 419 pages. to separate M. brassicae from related species in the western Russian fauna. Sannino and Espinosa (1999)Sannino and Espinosa (1999):
Sannino, L. and B. Espinosa. 1999. Morphological notes on Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Il Tabacco 7: 13-24. called attention to a characteristic almost circular yellow spot between stemmastemma:
a simple eye of holometabolous larvae
one and stemmastemma:
a simple eye of holometabolous larvae
two. The dorsally grooved spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
and hairlike SD1 on A9 (Ahola and Silvonen [2008]) in M. brassicae is typical for the subfamily Noctuinae (s.l.) as defined in the broad sense to include the Hadeninae (Lafontaine and Fibiger 2006Lafontaine and Fibiger 2006:
Lafontaine, J. D. and M. Fibiger. 2006. Revised higher classification of the Noctuiodea (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist 138: 610-635.).

Although the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of M. brassicae is very variable in color and pattern (Beck 1999-2000Beck 1999-2000:
Beck, H. 1999-2000. Die Larven der Europaischen Noctuidae. Revision der Systematik der Noctuidae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). Herbipoliana 5/1(1): 1-864; 5/1(2): 1-448; 5/3(3): 1-512; 5/3(4): 1-336.), these characters are important. Whittle (1986)Whittle (1986):
Whittle, K. 1986. Pests not known to occur in the United States or of limited distribution 74. Cabbage moth. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine 81-49. 15 pp. and Gomez de Aizpurua (2002)Gomez de Aizpurua (2002):
Gomez de Aizpurua, C. 2002. Orugas y mariposas de Europa. Tomo V. Heterocera. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente. Parques Nacionales. 352 pp. illustrated two larval color forms of M. brassicae. Middle instars are green with a broad white spiracular stripe that passes through the spiracles on A1-7 and below the much larger spiracle of A8. Mature larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
may or may not have dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
markings like a chevron. There is often a thin dark transverse line (cross bar) on A8 (Sannino and Espinosa 1999Sannino and Espinosa 1999:
Sannino, L. and B. Espinosa. 1999. Morphological notes on Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Il Tabacco 7: 13-24.). Although these features are characteristic of M. brassicae, they do occur on other noctuid genera as well. The most distinctive marking is a black spot which surrounds the abdominal spiracles (Ahola and Silvonen [2008: 394]). This pattern is also found on Lacanobia suasa (Merzheevskaya 1988Merzheevskaya 1988:
Merzheevskaya, O. I. 1988. Larvae of the owlet moths (Noctuidae). [English translation edited by G. L. Godfrey]. Amerind Publishing Co. New Delhi, India. 419 pages., Porter 1997Porter 1997:
Porter, J. 1997. The Colour Identification Guide to Caterpillars of the British Isles. Viking Press London. 275 pp.), but that species does not have a long spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
or bladesblades:
thick flat spines on the proximolateral region of the hypophayngeal complex
on the hypopharyngeal complexhypopharyngeal complex:
a structure consisting of the Hypopharynx, Labial palpi, and Spinneret
(Beck 1999). One common North American species, Orthosia rubescens, has the spiracles surrounded by black markings (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.) in a pattern similar to M. brassicae. However, the mouthparts of the two species are completely different (see Godfrey 1972).

The first instarinstar:
the stage between molts
of M. brassicae has pigmented body pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
and a characteristic prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the first thoracic segment
pattern illustrated by Sannino and Espinosa (1999)Sannino and Espinosa (1999):
Sannino, L. and B. Espinosa. 1999. Morphological notes on Mamestra brassicae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Il Tabacco 7: 13-24.. The outer margins of the shieldshield:
a sclerotized plate covering part of the dorsum of a segment
are outlined in black enclosing two spots. The caption to Figure 4 of their paper calls it a prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the first thoracic segment
- this is a misprint for anal shieldanal shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the last abdominal segment (= anal plate)
.

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Accurate identification of M. brassicae involves origin, morphology, and color pattern. Because this pest is polyphagous, the hostplant offers few clues in spite of the common name.

Carter (1984)Carter (1984):
Carter, D. J. 1984. Pest Lepidoptera of Europe with special reference to the British Isles. Dr. W. Junk Publishers. Series Entomologica vol. 31. 431 pp. gave the distribution of M. brassicae as "throughout the Palearctic Region from Europe to Japan and into subtropical Asia, including India." There is a map which shows two African localities, Libya and the Canary Islands in Whittle (1986)Whittle (1986):
Whittle, K. 1986. Pests not known to occur in the United States or of limited distribution 74. Cabbage moth. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine 81-49. 15 pp.. From time to time, identifiers submit presumed M. brassicae specimens from central Africa. This is slightly, but significantly, outside the known range of this pest. Because the climate and plants are different in the northern and central regions of Africa, not all parts of Africa may be ecologically suitable for M. brassicae; indeed, neither Forsyth (1966)Forsyth (1966):
Forsyth, J. 1966. Agricultural insects of Ghana. Ghana Universities Press. Accra, Ghana. 163 pp. in Ghana nor Schmutterer (1969)Schmutterer (1969):
Schmutterer, H. 1969. Pests of crops in Northeast and Central Africa. Gustav Fischer Verlag. Stuttgart, Germany. 296 pp. on pests of crops in central and northeastern Africa include M. brassicae in their works. On the other hand, Whittle (1986)Whittle (1986):
Whittle, K. 1986. Pests not known to occur in the United States or of limited distribution 74. Cabbage moth. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine 81-49. 15 pp. suggests that records from Greece, Japan, and Morocco for M. brassicae are errors representing transshipments. There is nothing unusual about any of these three countries given the above synopsis of the known distribution. The best solution is to restrict M. brassicae identifications to origins consistent with the known distribution of the pest. Of course, New World records for M. brassicae are suspect unless there is evidence of transshipment or other similar circumstance.

In the past, identifiers using Weisman (1986)Weisman (1986):
Weisman, D. M. 1986. Keys for the identification of some frequently intercepted lepidopterous larvae. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine series 81-47. 64 pp. often stopped at M. brassicae after seeing the proper mandible without paying attention to other characters or clues. It is important to understand that a retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
is present in hundreds of species of Noctuidae or Erebidae worldwide. Even the minute SD bars are common in many related species. Moreover, it is not clear which instars of M. brassicae have the retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
or if it can be worn off (see fact sheet on H. virescens).

Although Beck (1999-2000) and Ahola and Silvonen (2005, 2008) often give long detailed color descriptions in their keys, most of these are rarely useful to PPQ because all larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
are killed before submission to the port identifier. This results in specimens with faded or lost colors. In some groups, given the ease of taking digital photos, it might be better to submit color photos with suspects of key program pests. Mamestra brassicae would be a good example of this need; identifications are much less accurate on faded preserved specimens. Specimens without any pattern or color should be left as "Noctuinae complex" if SD1 is hairlike on A9.

Origin records

Mamestra brassicae has been intercepted from the following locations:

Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Spain

Locations from outside of the known distribution for this species likley represent misidentifications and are not listed here.

Host records

Mamestra brassicae has been intercepted on the following hosts:

Achillea sp., Aconitum napellus, Aconitum sp., Ageratum sp., Alchemilla sp., Allium porrum, Alocasia sp., Alstroemeria sp., Amaranthus caudatus, Amaranthus sp., Ammi majus, Anemone coronaria, Anemone sp., Antirrhinum majus, Apium graveolens, Asclepias sp., Asclepias tuberosa, Astilbe sp., Astrantia sp., Brassaia sp., Brassica oleracea, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, Brassica pekinensis, Brassica sp., Bupleurum griffithii, Bupleurum sp., Calendula sp., Callistephus sp., Campanula sp., Capsicum annuum, Capsicum sp., Celosia sp., Chenopodium sp., Chrysanthemum sp., Cichorium sp., Consolida ajacis, Cotinus sp., Crocosmia sp., Cucumis sp., Curcubita sp., Cymbidium sp., Dahlia sp., Daucus sp., Delphinium sp., Deutzia sp., Dianthus sp., Dryopteris sp., Eryngium alpinum, Eryngium sp., Eupatorium sp., Eustoma grandiflorum, Eustoma sp., Freesia sp., Gentiana sp., Gloriosa sp., Helenium sp., Helianthus sp., Helleborus sp., Hydrangea sp., Hypericum sp., Lactuca sativa, Lamiaceae, Lathyrus sp., Leonotis sp., Leucospermum sp., Lilium sp., Lisianthus sp., Lycopersicon sp., Lysimachia sp., Mentha sp., Origanum vulgare, Paeonia lactiflora, Paeonia sp., Phlox sp., Platycodon sp., Ranunculus sp., Rosa sp., Rudbeckia sp., Scabiosa sp., Setaria italica, Solanum sp., Solidago sp., Syringa sp., Thymus vulgaris, Trachelium sp., Veronica sp., Viburnum opulus, Viburnum sp.