Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Tobacco Budworm Moth
Chloridea virescens (Fabricius, 1777)


Family: Noctuidae
Subfamily: Heliothentinae
Identification: Forewing pale green with 3 nearly parallel lines as in Subflexus Straw, but usually no white edging on basal side of median line. Postmedian line ends before reaching costa and is not continued to apex by black dash. Reniform spot outline darker, outer side more curved. Hindwing white, usually with prominent gray shading, though this is absent in some males.
Wing Span: 2.7-3.8 cm.
Life History:
Flight: 2 broods, May - October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Larva is a serious pest on tobacco. First brood larvae eat buds while second brood eat flowers and seedpods. Also feeds on ageratum, geraniums, roses, and members of the nightshade family.
Adult Food:
Habitat:
Range: Maine and southern Ontario to Florida, west to Nebraska and Texas.
Conservation:
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs:
Taxonomy Notes: Formerly in the genus Heliothis. See Pogue (2013), Lafontaine & Schmidt (2015), Lafontaine & Schmidt, 2015: 140.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Heliothis virescens
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