Classification

Noctuoidea: Noctuidae: Noctuinae: Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)

Common name

rice cutworm, cluster caterpillarcaterpillar:
a larva with a conspicuous head, three pairs of thoracic legs, and prolegs; the larva of a butterfly, moth, sawfly, or scorpionfly (= eruciform)
, cotton leafworm, tobacco cutworm, tropical armyworm, Egyptian cottonworm

Synonyms

Prodenia litura, Noctua histrionica, Noctua elata, Prodenia ciligera, Prodenia tasmanica, Prodenia subterminalis, Prodenia glaucistriga, Prodenia declinata, Mamestra albisparsa, Prodenia evanescens, Orthosia conjuncta

Larval diagnosis (Detailed)

The larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of S. litura, usually called the rice cutworm (USDA 1982), was described by Chu et al. (1965)Chu et al. (1965):
Chu, H. F., C. L. Fang and L. Y. Wang. 1965. Fauna of Chinese Economic Insects. Volume 7. Lepidoptera, Noctuidae (immature stages). [China] Science Publishing House. 120 pp., Thakar and Srivastva (1983) and partially described by Gardner (1941, 1947), Mochida (1973)Mochida (1973):
Mochida, O. 1973. Two important insect pests, Spodoptera litura (F.) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidotera: Noctuidae), on various crops - morphological discrimination of the adult, pupal, and larval stages. Applied Entomology and Zoology 8: 205-214., Weisman (1974)Weisman (1974):
Weisman, D. M. 1974. Some lepidopterous larvae of plant quarantine significance. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine unpublished training aid. 22 pp., Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998)Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998):
Bejakovich D. and J. Dugdale. [1998]. Keys to late-instar larvae and adults of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) encountered in field surveys and border control in New Zealand. MAF Quality Management and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Lincoln, New Zealand. 55 pp., Pogue (2002)Pogue (2002):
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages., Sri et al. (2010)Sri et al. (2010):
Sri, I. A., V. R. Rao, P. R. Sekhar and M .S. V. Chalam. 2010. Taxonomic studies on different lepidopteran caterpillars on cotton, chilli and pulses. Annals of Plant Protection Sciences 18: 104-107., and Passoa (2011)Passoa (2011):
Passoa, S. 2011. Field key to late instars of Spodoptera of America North of Mexico, pp. 386-387. In Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. Bolling Sullivan and R. C. Reardon. Owlet caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press.. Srivastava and Mathur (1964)Srivastava and Mathur (1964):
Srivastava, B. K. and M. L. Mathur. 1964. Morphology and musculature of the head capsule of mature larva of Prodenia litura Fabr. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). Indian Journal of Entomology 26: 78-91. described the mouthparts. Cox (1976)Cox (1976):
Cox, J. 1976. Tropical army worm, Spodoptera litura Fabr., life cycle. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research information series 105/19. Wellington, New Zealand. 3 pp., Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998)Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998):
Bejakovich D. and J. Dugdale. [1998]. Keys to late-instar larvae and adults of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) encountered in field surveys and border control in New Zealand. MAF Quality Management and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Lincoln, New Zealand. 55 pp., Sugi (1987)Sugi (1987):
Sugi, S (ed.). 1987. Larvae of larger moths in Japan. Kodanshu Co., Limited. Tokyo, Japan. 453 pp., 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., and Komai et al. (2011)Komai et al. (2011):
Komai, F., Y. Yoshiyasu, Y. Nasu and T. Saito. 2011. A guide to the Lepidoptera of Japan. Tokai University Press. Kanagawa, Japan. 1305 pp. 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. did not include S. litura in his key. Several authors have partially described the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
, usually emphasizing different character sets. Sometimes there is conflicting information. Due to a lack of a modern detailed morphological description, we review the major available literature on the larval morphology of S. litura to support our diagnosis of this important quarantine pest.

Gardner (1941) studied S. litura in India. He noted the fronsfrons:
medial sclerite on face of head delimited above by epicranial arms and below by frontoclypeal suture; sometimes termed frontal area (or front)
of S. litura is dark brown to black, the spiracle of A7 is two thirds as large as the one on A8, and SD1 is dorsaddorsad:
toward the top or back
of the spiracle on the abdominal segments. The labral notch is wide but shallow, the setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
are short, the skin is smooth, and the spiracles are black. Later, Gardner (1947)Gardner (1947):
Gardner, J. C. M. 1947. On larvae of the Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) - III. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 98: 59-89. placed S. litura in his "Division A, group A2," using some of the above characters. Members of group A2 appear to have a relatively unspecialized morphology; perhaps the most significant characters are the short setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
, position of SD1 dorsaddorsad:
toward the top or back
of the spiracle on A8, a bisetosebisetose:
two setae
SV group on A1, a trisetosetrisetose:
three setae
SV group on A2, stemmatastemma:
a simple eye of holometabolous larvae
1 and 2 closely spaced and the frontal pores in line with the F1 setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
. The spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
of S. litura has two projections and an elongate rounded apicalapical:
at the end or the tip
lobe (Gardner 1947: fig. 16).

Chu et al. (1965: plateplate:
a larger sclerotized area of the body; = shield
5: fig. 80) illustrated the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of S. litura from China. The P setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
are evenly spaced, the labrumlabrum:
the upper lip
has a developed notch, the apex of the spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
has an elongated round apicalapical:
at the end or the tip
lobe, and his illustration of the mandible shows five teeth with a few minute serrations on the cutting margin. A black patch on the abdominal segments surrounds both the spiracle and a lighter spot at the posteriorposterior:
caudal or rear
margin.

Mochida (1973)Mochida (1973):
Mochida, O. 1973. Two important insect pests, Spodoptera litura (F.) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidotera: Noctuidae), on various crops - morphological discrimination of the adult, pupal, and larval stages. Applied Entomology and Zoology 8: 205-214. compared twenty larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
each of S. litura from Japan to S. littoralis from Egypt. The basal margin of the labrumlabrum:
the upper lip
is convex in S. litura but linear in S. littoralis. The pattern of coloration around the abdominal spiracles was better developed in S. litura than to S. littoralis. Other features of the head, mouthparts and thoracic claws were considered "characteristic" of each species but they were not enumerated by Mochida (1973)Mochida (1973):
Mochida, O. 1973. Two important insect pests, Spodoptera litura (F.) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidotera: Noctuidae), on various crops - morphological discrimination of the adult, pupal, and larval stages. Applied Entomology and Zoology 8: 205-214.. The figures do show some major differences. Spodoptera litura has the MD setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
in a straight line on the head, P2 almost dorsaddorsad:
toward the top or back
of P1, a rectangular mandible, and the apex of the spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
rounded. This differs from S. littoralis, which has the MD setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
in a curved line, P2 more widely spaced from each other than P1, a square shaped mandible, and the apex of the spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
pointed. Both species have four setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
on the prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the first thoracic segment
.

Weisman (1974)Weisman (1974):
Weisman, D. M. 1974. Some lepidopterous larvae of plant quarantine significance. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine unpublished training aid. 22 pp. defined a "Prodenia group" that included S. litura and other species of Spodoptera. He mentioned a broad and flat spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
, almost equal in length to the labial palpuslabial palpus:
a pair of small, segmented sensory structures arising on the distolateral portions of the labium
, with a middorsal groove and two small projections at the apex. The SD setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
are off the prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield:
the dorsal shieldlike covering of the first thoracic segment
and SD1 of the mesothoraxmesothorax:
the second thoracic segment
[and metathorax] are connected to the associated tonofibrillary platelettonofibrillary platelet:
a small, external, flattened, sclerotized area of the integument associated with muscle attachment
by a minute sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
bar. The mandible has no retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
.

Aitkenhead et al. (1974)Aitkenhead et al. (1974):
Aitkenhead, P., C. R. B. Baker and G. W. D. De Chickera. 1974. An outbreak of Spodoptera litura, a new pest under glass in Britain. Plant Pathology 23: 117-118. thought the markings on A1 of S. litura extended more laterally than in S. littoralis but otherwise two species could not be told apart in the field. Brown and Cantrell (1978)Brown and Cantrell (1978):
Brown, E. H. and B. K. Cantrell. 1978. Key to larvae of armyworms, cutworms and budworms found in Queensland. Queensland Journal of Agricultural and Animal Sciences 35: 91-94. illustrated the mandible of S. litura and noted the presence of white spots on the dorsum. 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. published a key to Hawaiian noctuids. After eliminating unrelated species, he separated S. litura from Elaphria and other Spodoptera in Hawaii by the spacing of stemmatastemma:
a simple eye of holometabolous larvae
3 and 4, spiracle size and color, the lack of dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
round spots on A2, and the relatively broad spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
. The description of S. litura by Thakar and Srivastva (1983) included a short text and diagrammatic figures. There was no diagnosis.

Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998: 16, 17, 52) defined S. mauritia and S. litura by having L2 below the level of the spiracle on A8; the D, SD and L setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
with a slightly truncatetruncate:
square at the end
or expanded apex; presence of "eyespots" (white spots) on the mesothoraxmesothorax:
the second thoracic segment
and metathoraxmetathorax:
the third thoracic segment
and a swollen area at D2 on the last two thoracic segments compare to the prothoraxprothorax:
the first thoracic segment
. They recognized two color forms of S. litura in New Zealand interceptions. Both have a white spot on a dark "scleritesclerite:
a hardened body plate
" [patch] posterodorsad of the abdominal spiracles. These markings may be "vivid" (S. litura from Australia) or "drab" (S. litura from the eastern Pacific).

Pogue (2002)Pogue (2002):
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages. added that the distance between P2 is greater than that separating the P1 setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
, the mandible has teeth, the frontfront:
the frons or frontal area, sometimes including the clypeus
extends about 1/2 to 3/4 the distance to the epicranial notchepicranial notch:
the V-shaped dorsomedial space delimited laterally by the cranial halves
and there are about 127 crochetscrochets:
sclerotized, hooklike structures, usually arranged in rows or circles on the prolegs of Lepidoptera larvae
on one side of the body. He also recognized two color forms. Important color characters include the dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
segmental triangles of A7 and A8 being larger than those on A1-6, all with a small white spot at their apex, and the presence of a white or light spot caudalcaudal:
pertaining to the tail or posterior end
to the spiracle.

Passoa (2011)Passoa (2011):
Passoa, S. 2011. Field key to late instars of Spodoptera of America North of Mexico, pp. 386-387. In Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. Bolling Sullivan and R. C. Reardon. Owlet caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press. compared S. litura and S. littoralis to other North American Spodoptera as part of a screening key to allow more rapid recognition of these exotic species if ever introduced to North America. For typical specimens of S. litura, the dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangle of A1 is larger than the triangle on A6, the spiracular linespiracular line:
the line coinciding with or near the spiracles
may be interrupted on A1 but there is no loss of intensity on the thorax compared to the abdomen and dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
spots are often present on T2 and T3. The ground color varies from green to brown, a middorsal line may be present and the abdominal triangular markings have a white spot at the apex.

The unspecialized morphology of S. litura is shown by its location on the last couplet of 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., and both keys by Gardner (1941, 1947), only after all the other species are eliminated. From the above studies, we suggest the following morphological characters: spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
with two projections and an elongate rounded apicalapical:
at the end or the tip
lobe; mandible with four scissorial teeth and no retinaculumretinaculum:
a projection or toothlike structure on the oral surface of the mandible
; SD1 on T2 and T3 connected to the associated tonofibrillary platelettonofibrillary platelet:
a small, external, flattened, sclerotized area of the integument associated with muscle attachment
by a minute sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
bar; SV group bisetosebisetose:
two setae
on A1; SD1 dorsaddorsad:
toward the top or back
of the spiracle on A8 and the body setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
short, most not much longer than the vertical height of the 8th abdominal spiracle. Passoa (1991)Passoa (1991):
Passoa, S. 1991. Color identification of economically important Spodoptera larvae in Honduras. Insecta Mundi 5(3-4): 185-196. listed nine general characters to separate Spodoptera from other economic noctuids in Honduras, a few of these not mentioned above are applicable to S. litura, for example, four abdominal prolegsabdominal prolegs:
all prolegs on any abdominal segment except the last, which are Anal prolegs
present (larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
not a looperlooper:
a caterpillar with some prolegs reduced or missing, usually on segments A3-5 (Geometridae) or A3-4 (Noctuidae)
), laterallateral:
to the side, or at the side of
spot often present on first abdominal segment (this spot is a practical method of recognizing Spodoptera larvae in the field), hypopharyngeal complexhypopharyngeal complex:
a structure consisting of the Hypopharynx, Labial palpi, and Spinneret
with coarsely spined posteriorposterior:
caudal or rear
portion lacking a dense brush of stout bristles, cuticle smooth under low magnification, and head with an inverted "Y" because adfrontal areasadfrontal areas:
an oblique sclerite on each side of the frons, usually extending from the base of the antennae to the epicranial suture where they meet, or to the epicranial notch if they do not meet
are outlined in white (see 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.). There appears to be variation in the spinneretspinneret:
a structure from which silk is spun, usually located on the labium of larvae
of S. litura as the figures of Chu et al. (1965)Chu et al. (1965):
Chu, H. F., C. L. Fang and L. Y. Wang. 1965. Fauna of Chinese Economic Insects. Volume 7. Lepidoptera, Noctuidae (immature stages). [China] Science Publishing House. 120 pp. and Mochida (1973)Mochida (1973):
Mochida, O. 1973. Two important insect pests, Spodoptera litura (F.) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidotera: Noctuidae), on various crops - morphological discrimination of the adult, pupal, and larval stages. Applied Entomology and Zoology 8: 205-214. do not match, perhaps the former being more typical. There also seems to be variation in the spacing of the P setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
, the labral notch and the shape of the mandible according to the available illustrations. With our limited material, we could not confirm that the D, SD and L setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
of S. litura have a slightly truncatetruncate:
square at the end
or expanded apex as mentioned by Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998)Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998):
Bejakovich D. and J. Dugdale. [1998]. Keys to late-instar larvae and adults of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) encountered in field surveys and border control in New Zealand. MAF Quality Management and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Lincoln, New Zealand. 55 pp.. There is a long ridgelike blade on the hypopharyngeal complexhypopharyngeal complex:
a structure consisting of the Hypopharynx, Labial palpi, and Spinneret
and SD1 is hairlike on A9.

The following color characters are most important for recognizing S. litura: middorsal line often present and conspicuous; dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangles absent on all segments, present on A1 to A8, only A1 and A8 or just A8; the dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangle of A1 usually much larger than that of A6; the spiracular linespiracular line:
the line coinciding with or near the spiracles
, if interrupted on A1, then equal in intensity on both the thorax and abdomen; abdominal spiracles with a dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
dark spot enclosing a smaller white spot posteriorposterior:
caudal or rear
to the spiracle, and apex of dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangles with a small apicalapical:
at the end or the tip
white spot. These patterns are visible on living and usually preserved larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
.

There are both larval and adult color differences for S. litura across its range (Bejakovich and Dugdale 1998Bejakovich and Dugdale 1998:
Bejakovich D. and J. Dugdale. [1998]. Keys to late-instar larvae and adults of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) encountered in field surveys and border control in New Zealand. MAF Quality Management and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Lincoln, New Zealand. 55 pp., Pogue 2002Pogue 2002:
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages.). Both the "drab" and "vivid" larval color forms occur together in Japan (Komai et al. 2011: plateplate:
a larger sclerotized area of the body; = shield
236). The significance of morphological or color variation of S. litura is not known.

We have chosen the most common states in both morphology and color based on United States port interceptions. Exceptions to the above diagnosis are known and more may be expected. Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998)Bejakovich and Dugdale (1998):
Bejakovich D. and J. Dugdale. [1998]. Keys to late-instar larvae and adults of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) encountered in field surveys and border control in New Zealand. MAF Quality Management and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. Lincoln, New Zealand. 55 pp. and Mohn (2001)Mohn (2001):
Mohn, D. L. 2001. Oriental Leafworm moth (Noctuidae Amphipyrinae Spodoptera litura - Fabricius). illustrated examples of a S. litura with a pale abdominal dorsum and only traces of a spiracular stripe or abdominal triangles. In other cases (Example Here), the dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangles are well developed and all are almost equal in size.

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Because the genus Spodoptera is hard to define as larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
, care must be taken to be sure the specimen is in this genus. The thoracic bar on SD1 occurs in many noctuids, it is not an indication of Spodoptera by itself. Morphological characters were described in detail above to help with doubtful cases. Both the morphology and color must match Spodoptera. If either is not correct, it is better to stay at family Noctuidae.

Accurate identification of S. litura involves origin, morphology and color pattern. Because this pest is polyphagous, the hostplant offers few clues. The one exception is S. litura on orchids from Thailand.

There have been interceptions of Spodoptera on orchids from Thailand for many years, going back to at least to the 1970's (Ford 1988: 6). Some of these are S. exigua, easily recognized by the characters given in our data sheet. Because orchids are not a field host for S. litura, there was doubt about this association (Ford 1988Ford 1988:
Ford, E. J. 1988. Pathway study for Spodoptera littoralis. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine [unpublished memo]. 9 pp.). However, the Netherlands Plant Protection Organization has reared S. litura from Thailand orchids several times from 2005-2007 (M. van der Straten, pers. comm.), thus confirming this pathway. Because there are still only two easily separated Spodoptera on orchids from Thailand, even young larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of S. litura (second to last instarinstar:
the stage between molts
) can be named. This is the rare exception, otherwise, larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of Spodoptera with an unknown origin, or those young enough to have a swollen thorax, should only be identified to genus.

Typically, the forms of S. litura can be summarized as follows. Early instars have a swollen thorax and usually either a band or a large black spot on A1. Heavily marked later instars have white spots on the mesothoraxmesothorax:
the second thoracic segment
and metathoraxmetathorax:
the third thoracic segment
, a middorsal stripe, dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangles on all the abdominal segments with apicalapical:
at the end or the tip
white spot and abdominal spiracles with a dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
dark spot enclosing a smaller white spot posteriorposterior:
caudal or rear
to the spiracle. Drab or poorly marked forms of S. litura will lack the thoracic spots, dorsaldorsal:
at the top or back or above
triangles and either or both of the spots near the spiracle. In these cases, origin may be the only way to separate them from S. littoralis pending confirmation of morphological characters mentioned by Mochida (1973)Mochida (1973):
Mochida, O. 1973. Two important insect pests, Spodoptera litura (F.) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidotera: Noctuidae), on various crops - morphological discrimination of the adult, pupal, and larval stages. Applied Entomology and Zoology 8: 205-214.. Spodoptera litura can be identified from India west throughout Asia; S. littoralis from about Israel east to northern Africa and Europe. Doubtful specimens from Israel to India can be left at genus. The presence of a middorsal stripe in S. litura was considered distinctive (EPPO data sheet), but this character is also variable. Although S. litura does not occur in Europe naturally, it is common in cut flowers from the Netherlands.

Origin records

Spodoptera litura has been intercepted from the following locations:

China, Hawaii, Hong Kong (?), India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam

Although S. litura does not occur in Europe naturally, it is common in cut flowers from the Netherlands.

Host records

Spodoptera litura has been intercepted on the following hosts:

Actinidia sp., Alocasia sp., Anemone sp., Anethum graveolens, Arachnis sp., Aranda sp., Aranthera sp., Ascocenda sp., Begonia sp., Brassica sp., Callistephus chinensis, Capsicum sp., Chrysanthemum sp., Citrus sp., Cleome sp., Cymbidium sp., Dendrobium sp., Dischidia pectenoides, Echinodorus sp., Euphorbia lactea, Euphorbia sp., Gardenia sp., Gomphrena globosa, Jasminum sp., Lactuca sativa, Lisianthus sp., Lotus sp., Ludwigia sp., Mokara sp., Nelumbo nucifera, Nelumbo sp., Nymphaea sp., Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum sp., Oncidium aureum, Oncidium basilicum, Oncidium bicallosum, Oncidium sp., Orchidaceae, Origanum sp., Origanum vulgare, Pelargonium sp., Philodendron sp., Platycerium sp., Rosa sp., Rotala sp., Sageretia thea, Solanum sp., Tagetes sp., Thymus sp., Vanda sp., Zantedeschia sp.