#2739 · 🦋 butterflies & moths

Beet Armyworm Moth

🇳🇱 Florida-uil ·Spodoptera exigua

🦋 Butterflies & moths 📍 in the Netherlands

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The beet armyworm or small mottled willow moth ( Spodoptera exigua ) is one of the best-known agricultural pest insects. It is also known as the asparagus fern caterpillar . It is native to Asia, but has been introduced worldwide and is now found almost anywhere its many host crops are grown. The voracious larvae are the main culprits. In the British Isles, where it is an introduced species and not known to breed, the adult moth is known...

base stats

NL sightings 56iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 18,204iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).