European pepper moth
Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller)
(Insecta: Lepidoptera: Crambidae)
European pepper moths have a wingspan of 19 to 21 mm. Forewings are grayish brown with two characteristic yellowish-white transverse lines, the outermost looking like an outward-pointing finger. Legs are light brown. The body is 9 to 12 mm long and olive green with cream-colored rings surrounding the abdomen. Compared with females, males have a longer, slimmer abdomen that curves upwards when at rest.
Under greenhouse conditions, completion of the life cycle takes six to eight weeks. The straw-colored eggs are laid singly or in small masses of three to 10 eggs. Eggs turn pink then red then brown as the embryo develops. Larvae, initially pale pink, turn cream colored with age and grow to be 17 to 19 mm long. A line of separated brown to gray spots extends across and around each segment. Head and an adjacent dorsal plate are shiny dark brown. Pupae form within cocoons made of webbing, frass, and soil particles.
Duponchelia fovealis is native to the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands. Since the mid-2000s, this greenhouse pest has been detected in California and many southeastern United States. It was found in Florida in 2010.
The larvae of this moth feed on leaves, buds, flowers and roots. They have a broad host range including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, corn, strawberries and certain herbs and herbaceous ornamental plant species.
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Trapped adults of European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller)
(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)
Larva of European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller)
(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)