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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 Brassicaceae Cannabaceae Caprifoliaceae Caricaceae Caryophyllaceae Cleomaceae[Capparaceae] Convolvulaceae Cu..  Host genera: Abelmoschus Abutilon Ageratum Alcea Amaranthus Apium Arachis Asparagus Atropa Avena Brassica Cannabis Capsicum Carica Celosia Cenchrus[=Pennisetum] Chenopodium Chrysothamnus Cicer Cichorium Citrullus ...  Notes: polyphagous - feed on a seemingly limitless variety of broad-leaved plants (Powell & Opler 2009); generalist on many kinds of herbaceous plants, prefers feeding on fruits and seed heads (Crabo et al 2...  (Shropshire & 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.

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