Hellula undalis

Hellula undalis, the cabbage webworm or Old World webworm, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is a widespread species which is found from Europe across Asia to the Pacific. It was first described from Italy.

Hellula undalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Genus:	Hellula
Species:	H. undalis
Binomial name
Hellula undalis (Fabricius, 1794)[1]
Synonyms
Phalaena undalis Fabricius, 1794 Pionea geyri Rothschild, 1915 Pyralis lunulalis Costa, 1836 Scoparia alconalis Walker, 1859 Leucinodes exemptalis Walker, 1866 Evergestis occidentalis de Joannis, 1930 Ashwania reniculus Pajni & Rose, 1977 Hellula undulalis Hübner, 1825 Crypsotidia parva Rothschild, 1921

The wingspan is about 18 mm. Adult moths have fawn forewings, each with sinuous pale lines and a kidney-shaped mark. The hindwings are a uniform grey darkening at the margins.

The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, mainly of the family Brassicaceae. Recorded food plants include broccoli, crucifers, head cabbage, Chinese cabbage, spoon cabbage, daikon radish, horseradish, mustard, radish and turnip. It is considered a serious agricultural pest. The larvae initially bore into the stem of growing shoots, later instars mine the leaves and leaf stems. It makes a web of silk around the feeding area which accumulates frass. The caterpillar is 12–15 mm long and is whitish with pinkish-brown longitudinal stripes.

Pupation occurs within this silken shelter. The pupa is formed in a loose cocoon of webbed-together particles of soil or other matter and is about 8 mm long, shining pale brown with a dark stripe on the back.