Moth Photographers Group – Helicoverpa zea

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Noctuidae

932045 – 11068 Helicoverpa zea (Boddie, 1850)

Corn Earworm

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Larva and Host Plants:	Host familiy: Amaranthaceae[Chenopodiaceae] Apiaceae Arecaceae[Palmae] Asparagaceae[Liliaceae] Asteraceae Brassica.. Host genera: Abelmoschus Abutilon Ageratum Alcea Amaranthus Apium Arachis Asparagus Atropa Avena Brassica Cannabi... Host extended: polyphagous - feed on a seemingly limitless variety of broad-leaved plants (Powell & Opler 2009); ge... (Kimberley & Douglas 2025)
Similar Species:	Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:	zea (Boddie, 1850) (Phalaena) - MONA 1983: 11068 armigera of authors; not Hübner, 1808 (Helicoverpa) obsoleta (Fabricius, 1793) (Bombyx) ochracea Cockerell, 1889 (Helicoverpa) stombleri (Okumura & Bauer, 1969) (Heliothis) - MONA 1983: [11069] umbrosus (Grote, 1862) (Heliothis)

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced.
Factsheet at Florida Featured Creatures.
Pogue, M.G., 2004. A New Synonym of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Differentiation of Adult Males of H. zea and H. armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 97(6): 1222-1226. (PDF or read online)
Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 52.28f; p. 290. Book Review and ordering
Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online)
Species Page at Block Island Moths
Species Page at BugGuide.Net
Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum
Species Page at Mass Moths
Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths
Species Page at iNaturalist
Species page at Moths of North Dakota.

Moth Photographers Group at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at the Mississippi State University

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