Barb found this pretty pupa in the soil while planting a basil. It danced like Chubby Checker when she put slight pressure on its head as seen in this video. The outline of its future wings, head and abdomen was vivid and she put it in a small container with potting soil to see what emerged.
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| Pearly underwing before takeoff |
Several weeks later she brought me the box, saying it had emerged but appeared dead. Instead of chilling it I opened the box, took this photograph and off it flew! Fortunately the one clear view was enough to identify it as a Pearly Underwing Moth, Peridroma saucia.
Its other common name is Variegated Cutworm Moth although farmers and gardeners would probably call it @#%^. It feeds on a wide variety of plants, especially fruits and vegetables.
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| Cutworm - MJ Hatfield |
The larvae aka. cutworms hide in the soil and other cover during the day and comes out at night to feed. They rip the leaves and fruit from plants and can climb a tree to eat the
buds and stems. They can strip a garden or field in a matter of days.
The adult moth meanwhile cuts off the plant where they emerge from the
soil.
I suspect that they refer to us as the Great Providers or some other term of worship. Not only do we plant, fertilize and water their sustenance but we put it in neat rows and eliminate the non-nutritious "junk food", i.e. weeds. Traveling in the rows they are protected from predators that would be patrolling open ground. What is not to love?
P. saucia produces two to four generations a year. It requires warmth and will migrate northward as the year progresses. Its origin is uncertain but it is found worldwide. It was first recorded in the US in 1841 and is found mainly in the northern United States.
The only good news about this cutworm is that it feeds a wide variety of predators and parasitoids. That and it has some wicked dance moves.