Elaphria nucicolora

Elaphria nucicolora, the sugarcane midget, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from the south-eastern United States (Florida to North Carolina, west to Texas), through Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to tropical South America (Peru and French Guiana). It is also present on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii.

Elaphria nucicolora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Noctuidae
Genus:
Elaphria
Species:
E. nucicolora
Binomial name
Elaphria nucicolora
(Guenée, 1852)
Synonyms
  • Monodes nucicolora Guenée, 1852
  • Laphygma unisignata Walker, 1856
  • Caradrina clara Harvey, 1878
  • Hadena paginata Morrison, 1875
  • Elaphria paginata (Morrison, 1875)
  • Galgula contraria Herrich-Schäffer, 1868[1]
  • Elaphria phalega Schaus 1940

The wingspan is about 21 mm. Adults are on wing from June to November in Georgia and may be present year round in Florida and the tropics.

Larvae have been recorded feeding on watermelon, Emilia flammea, Euphorbia hirta, Portulaca oleracea, Synedrella nodiflora as well as sugarcane. The caterpillar is nearly uniform dark fuscous, variegated with black.

References
  1. Becker, Vitor O. (2002). "The Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) from Cuba described by Herrich-Schäffer and Gundlach in the Gundlach Collection, Havana" (PDF). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 19 (2): 349–391. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752002000200006. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 29, 2012.


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