Helicoverpa punctigera

Native Budworm at Ainslie, ACT

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Identification history

Helicoverpa (genus)	20 Aug 2019	donhe
Helicoverpa punctigera	20 Aug 2019	ibaird
Helicoverpa punctigera	20 Aug 2019	jb2602

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6 comments

jb2602 wrote:

20 Aug 2019

See Morwell National Park 2-6-4

donhe wrote:

21 Aug 2019

How were you able to distinguish this from H. armigera?
Both this and H. punctigera have variable forewing patterns and colours, with a greater intra-species variability than the differences in these between the species.
I was under the impression that the only diagnostic superficial difference was a possible pale patch in the dark margin of the hindwing, but the hindwings are not visible in these photos.

ibaird wrote:

22 Aug 2019

I based my suggested identification on the similarity of the forewing pattern with the several other specimens identified as H. punctigera on CNM without hindwings visible. To my eye the black markings in H. punctigera are indistinct and smudgy looking, whereas for H. armigera they are far more sharp and distinct. If we were to apply the strict rule that we cannot identify to an Helicoperva species without seeing the hindwings then several or our previous identifications will need to be revised.

donhe wrote:

23 Aug 2019

Bit hard to tell as I can only get BOLD to show one specimen of H. armigera,
and their H. punctigera specimens do not engender confidence with their green striped one (presumably an Earias species) included.
The Qld Dept Ag only offer ways of distinguishing the larvae of the 2 species, and mention only the hindwing pale patch for the adults, at
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/crop-growing/pests-field-crops/helicoverpa
IPM are the same.
It beats me too.

GlennCocking wrote:

24 Aug 2019

Ian's comments on distinguishing the two species do apply in general. The problem arises from both species being variable, and the variation overlaps in the middle with H. punctigera also having some "more sharp and distinct" specimens. For those confusing ones, only the hindwing pattern distinction mentioned by Don can be used to separate them. I haven't gone now to recheck all our idents, but I think most of the H. punctigera are correct, and this is another one. Some Australothis rubrescens specimens without the pink tinge can also be confused with H. amigera and the "more sharp and distinct" H. punctigera.

GlennCocking wrote:

24 Aug 2019

See "HELIOTHINE MOTHS OF AUSTRALIA: A Guide to Pest Bollworms and Related Noctuid Groups by Marcus Matthews 1999. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Viet., Australia. 320pp (23 color pi.) (17 x 25 cm), plus CD-ROM. $90 cloth. ISBN: 0-643-06305-6. (Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, No. 7)."

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