Spodoptera mauritia

Lawn armyworm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Spodoptera
Species:	S. mauritia
Binomial name
Spodoptera mauritia (Boisduval, 1833)
Synonyms
Hadena mauritia Boisduval, 1833 Agrotis aliena Walker, 1865 Laphygma gratiosa Walker, 1865 Orthosia margarita Hawthorne, 1897 Agrotis yernauxi Hulstaert, 1924 Spodoptera acronyctoides Guenée, 1852 Spodoptera acronyctiformis Guenée, 1852 Spodoptera filum Guenée, 1852 Spodoptera nubes Guenée, 1852 Euxoa ogasawarensis Matsumura, 1926 Prodenia infecta Walker, 1856 Prodenia insignata Walker, 1856 Prodenia permunda Walker, 1857 Agrotis transducta Walker, [1857] Agrotis bisignata Walker, 1865 (preocc. Celaena bisignata Walker, 1865) Laphygma squalida Walker, 1865 Agrotis submarginalis Walker, 1865 Hadena obliqua Walker, 1865 Prodenia venustula Walker, 1865 Hermonassa formosana Matsumura, 1913

Spodoptera mauritia, the lawn armyworm, also known as paddy swarming caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Cosmopolitan species, it is a major polyphagous pest throughout the world.

It is widespread from the Red Sea to India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaya to Australia and widespread in the Pacific Islands, including the Solomons, New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, the Society Islands, Austral Islands, Marquesas and Marshall Islands.

The wingspan is about 40 mm. Dark grey-brown with a rusty tinge on body. Abdomen fuscous. Fore wings with sub-basal, antemedial, and postmedial double waved lines indistinct. The orbicular small and ochreous, whereas reniform blackish. Submarginal line whitish and irregularly waved. There is a white patch often can be seen between orbicular and reniform and a dark patch on the central marginal area. Hind wings opalescent and semi-hyaline white, with a dark marginal line.

The larvae feed on various grasses, including rice, wheat, Cynodon, Pennisetum clandestinum, Sorghum bicolor, Oryza sativa, and trees such as Casuarina equisetifolia. They are considered one of the major international agricultural pests on crops and pastures. Unlike other insects, armyworm caterpillars of sixth instar do not excrete uric acid, instead they excrete urea as nitrogenous wastes.

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