Sweetheart Underwing vs Fall Armyworm

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sweetheart Underwing Fall Armyworm
Scientific Name Catocala amatrix Spodoptera frugiperda
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Erebidae Noctuidae
Size 75-95 mm wingspan 32-40 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Farmland
Diet Sap Feeders Omnivores
Regions Eastern North America from southern Canada to the southern United States Americas, Africa, Asia, Oceania
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Sweetheart Underwing

A large underwing moth with mottled gray-brown forewings and rosy-pink hindwings crossed by black bands. It is one of the most attractive members of the underwing genus.

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Did You Know?

Its scientific name amatrix means 'sweetheart' in Latin, referring to the rosy-pink color of its hidden hindwings.

Fall Armyworm

A highly destructive migratory moth whose caterpillars can devastate entire corn and cereal fields in days. It has recently spread from the Americas to Africa and Asia.

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Did You Know?

Fall armyworm moths can migrate up to 1,600 km in a single generation carried by wind currents.