Spodoptera exigua (Hübner, [1808]) - Beet Army-worm Moth

Taxonomic Information

Spodoptera Guenée, 1852 species known from the Indian region:
Spodoptera apertura (Walker, 1865) (Prodenia). Oriental tropics.
Spodoptera cilium Guenée, 1852. Old World tropics. 
Spodoptera exempta (Walker, [1857]) (Agrotis). Oriental tropics. 
Spodoptera exigua (Hübner, [1808]) (Noctua). Oriental tropics. 
Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith, 1797). Native to N. & S. America. Introduced pest in other parts of the world. 
Spodoptera litura (Fabricius, 1775)(Noctua). Oriental tropics. 
Spodoptera mauritia (Boisduval, 1833)(Hadena). Oriental tropics. 
Spodoptera pecten Guenée, 1852. Indo-Australian tropics. 
Spodoptera picta (Guérin-Méneville, [1838])(Polia). Oriental tropics. 
Spodoptera pectinicornis (Hampson, 1895) (Xanthoptera). NE Himalaya.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh1
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat1111
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir UT
Jharkhand
Karnataka11
Kerala2
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra1
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan2
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu2
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand1
West Bengal
Total121131312
Spodoptera exigua (Hübner, [1808]) – Beet Army-worm Moth: Abelmoschus esculentus, Alcea rosea, Corchorus capsularis, Gossypium herbaceum, Hibiscus cannabinus, Malus domestica (Malvaceae), Agathis (Araucariaceae)?, Allium cepa (Amaryllidaceae), Amaranthus tricolor, Beta vulgaris, Chenopodium album (Amaranthaceae), Dalbergia sissoo,Sesbania bispinosa, Arachis hypogaea, Crotalaria juncea, Glycine max, Indigofera, Lathyrus sativus, Medicago sativa, Melilotus indicus, Phaseolus vulgaris, Lathyrus oleraceus, Trifolium alexandrinum, Vigna mungo,Vigna unguiculata (Fabaceae), Asparagus officinalis (Asparagaceae), Avena sativa, Eleusine coracana, Oryza sativa, Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays (Poaceae), Boerhavia diffusa (Nyctaginaceae), Brassica nigra, Brassica oleracea, Brassica rapa, Eruca vesicaria, Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (Brassicaceae), Capsicum annuum, Nicotiana tabacum, Nicotiana glauca, Nicotiana rustica, Solanum tuberosum (Solanaceae), Carthamus tinctorius, Helianthus annuus (Asteraceae), Coriandrum sativum (Apiaceae), Cucumis melo, Cucumis sativus, Trichosanthes dioica (Cucurbitaceae), Elsholtzia fruticosa (Lamiaceae), Gisekia pharnaceoides (Gisekiaceae), Linum usitatissimum (Linaceae), Ipomoea batatas (Convolvulaceae), Plantago (Plantaginaceae), Polygonum (Polygonaceae), Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), Verbascum coromandelianum (Scrophulariaceae), Vitis (Vitaceae) (Robinson et al. 2010). 
  1. OD: Noctua exigua Hübner, [1808]; Samml. eur. Schmett. [4]: pl. 78, f. 362; TL: Europe
  2. Hampson, G. F. 1894. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Moths, Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis, London. Arctiidae, Agrostidae, Noctuidae 609 p - 325 figs.pg. 259, # 1855. 
  3. Muddasar & Venkateshalu 2017. Taxonomic description of the genus Spodoptera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Karnataka. Journal of Entomol and Zool. Studies, 5(5), pp.1854-1858.
  4. Komal, J., Shashank, P.R., Sondhi, S., Madan S., Sondhi, Y., Meshram, N.M., Anooj, S.S. 2021. Moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) of Delhi, India: An illustrated checklist based on museum specimens and surveys. Biodiversity Data Journal 9: e73997. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e73997. Fig. 24c. 
  5. https://databases.nbair.res.in/insectpests/Spodoptera-exigua.php
  6. https://www.africanmoths.com/pages/NOCTUIIDAE/XYLENINAE/Spodoptera%20exigua.html
  7. http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=9665
  8. http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/acro/exigua.html
  9. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/231425-Spodoptera-exigua
  10. http://www.pieris.ch/seiten/main.php?page=art&art=noct_exigua
 

Page citation

Anonymous 2025. Spodoptera exigua (Hübner, [1808]) – Beet Army-worm Moth. In Sondhi, S., R.P. Singh, G. Iyer, J. D'silva and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.11. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.mothsofindia.org/spodoptera-exigua, accessed 2025/10/24.