Agrotis malefida

Agrotis malefida, the rascal dart or palesided cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from North Carolina and Kentucky south to Florida, west to Arizona, and north to southern Kansas. It is also found in the Neotropics from Mexico to Argentina and Chile.

Agrotis malefida
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Agrotis
Species:
A. malefida
Binomial name
Agrotis malefida
Guenée, 1852
Synonyms
  • Noctua robusta
  • Agrotis inspinosa
  • Agrotis consueta
  • Agrotis submucosa
  • ?Agrotis koehleri

The wingspan is 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in). The length of the forewings is 18–23 mm (0.71–0.91 in). Adults emerge in late January in the northern part of its range, in the south they fly throughout the year.

The larvae feed on a wide range of broad-leaved herbaceous plants, including Brassica oleracea, Trifolium, Fabaceae, Allium, Pisum sativum, Capsicum, Solanum tuberosum, Nicotiana, Solanum lycopersicum as well as various weeds. It is considered a pest on Zea mays and Gossypium.


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