The Stalk Borer Moth is a small, brown noctuid whose caterpillar tunnels through the stems of hundreds of herbaceous plant species, causing wilting and structural damage to garden plants and crops. The young caterpillar is distinctively striped purple-and-white before becoming uniformly grayish. Adults fly in late summer and fall and are attracted to lights.
Habitat
Gardens, fields, and roadsides with herbaceous plants
Diet
Larvae: stem borers in grasses, ragweed, and many others. Adults: nectar
How common
Common
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