Diet

• The caterpillars of Noctuoidea feed on an exceptionally wide range of plants, reflecting the enormous diversity of the superfamily.

• Host plants include grasses, herbs, vines, shrubs, deciduous trees and conifers.

• Some species are highly specialised on particular plant families, while others are strongly polyphagous and can feed on numerous unrelated plants.

• Feeding strategies also vary: most species chew foliage externally, while others bore into stems, roots or fruits, feed within plant tissues, or consume flowers and developing plant parts.

Habitat

• Noctuoid caterpillars occur in virtually every terrestrial habitat where suitable host plants are found, including tropical and temperate forests, woodland, grassland, scrub, wetlands, agricultural land and disturbed vegetation.

• Many species occur along forest edges, in clearings and in secondary vegetation where diverse host plants are available.

• Some larvae remain exposed on foliage, while others spend the daytime concealed beneath leaves, within rolled leaves, in plant stems or in the soil.

Description

• The caterpillars show extraordinary variation in form, ranging from smooth, relatively inconspicuous larvae to highly hairy, brightly coloured or elaborately sculptured caterpillars.

• Noctuid caterpillars are commonly stout-bodied and relatively smooth, whereas many arctiine caterpillars are densely covered with hairs or setae. Notodontid larvae may have pronounced projections, unusual body shapes or structures resembling parts of their host plants.