Description

• Anticarsia gemmatalis, the velvetbean caterpillar, is a medium-sized moth in the family Erebidae, subfamily Eulepidotinae. Adults have brown, grey, or reddish-brown forewings with variable mottling and a distinctive pale, often silvery diagonal line running across the wings. The wingspan is typically about 30–40 mm. Caterpillars are slender and variable in colour, commonly green but sometimes brownish, with longitudinal stripes and fine dark markings.

Range

• Anticarsia gemmatalis is widespread from the southern United States through Mexico and Central America and across much of South America. It occurs in the tropical Pacific lowlands of Mexico, including Zihuatanejo, Guerrero.

Habitat

• It inhabits warm open environments, tropical and seasonally dry forest margins, agricultural fields, gardens, grassland, and areas with abundant herbaceous vegetation. Adults are nocturnal and may be attracted to lights, while caterpillars are usually found feeding on foliage.

Diet

• The caterpillars are voracious herbivores that feed on the leaves of many legumes and other plants, with soybean (Glycine max) being a particularly important host. They also consume foliage of beans, cowpeas, peanuts, alfalfa, and numerous wild legumes. Adults feed primarily on nectar and other liquid plant resources.