Description

Adult

Wing length of male 18-20 mm and female 20-26 mm. Forewing ground colour yellowish-brown with patchwork pattern of light & dark blotches. Fringe black and a thin yellowish band along the inner margin. Male antennae are serrate and females filiform.

Larvae

Up to 35 mm long when fully grown. Body is greenish to greenish-grey with black. A dark dorsal stripe and two dark strips on the lateral side are present. Head is black with a pale pattern.

Eggs

Laid singly or in small batches on the underside of leaves or soil.

Distribution

Southern and eastern Europe, Canada and northern Asia.

Economic Host(s)

A wide range of vegetable and arable crops including carrot, bean, sugarbeet, wheat, sorghum, tomato and potato.

Symptoms/Signs

Larvae feed on leaves and roots. Veins are left when feeding on leaves and damaged leaves turn brown. Later instars prefer to feed on fresh growth around the growing points.

Generations:

3-4 (climate dependent)