Insects
Moths (Lepidoptera)
Noctuoid moths (except Arctiinae)
Sighting 4524487

Helicoverpa (genus)

A bollworm at Undefined Area

Helicoverpa (genus) at Undefined Area - 5 Nov 2023 02:00 PM
Helicoverpa (genus) at Undefined Area - 5 Nov 2023 02:00 PM
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Identification history

Helicoverpa (genus) 17 Nov 2023 ibaird
Helicoverpa (genus) 11 Nov 2023 donhe
Geometridae (family) IMMATURE 10 Nov 2023 MichaelMulvaney
Unverified 7 Nov 2023 JodieR

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User's notes

Insect pollinator survey sighting

5 comments

RogerF wrote:
   7 Nov 2023
Unidentified insect larva. Not a pollinator
Proliferous pink Petrorhagia nanteuillii exotic
donhe wrote:
   11 Nov 2023
Insuffcient definition to see prolegs to verify Geometridae. No known Geometrid larvae with black bands like that. Black head seems to rule out Arctiinae which has some black banded larvae...
donhe wrote:
   11 Nov 2023
Caterpillars can pollinate too, and even snails are thought to pollinate Aspidistras..
RogerF wrote:
   12 Nov 2023
I thought that the incidence of a flower feeding caterpillar such as Heliothis carrying pollen from the flower of one plant to another would be low.
donhe wrote:
   12 Nov 2023
Heliothis larvae do like feeding on flowers, and they have big appetites, so are likely to visit several flowers before reaching maturity. They also have hairs to which pollen is likely to stick, and be transferred. As far as I know: noone has investigated this. It would make a nice PhD project.

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  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size

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