Agrotis interjectionis Guenée, 1852
 (one synonym is Euxoa vertenteni Hulstaert, 1923)
NOCTUINAE,   NOCTUIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Agrotis interjectionis
(Photo: courtesy of Dominic Funnell, Weipa, Queensland)

These Caterpillars are considered a pest in south-east Asia, attacking plants from a wide range of families, including

  • Onions ( Allium species, ALLIACEAE ),
  • African Oil Palm ( Elaeis guineensis, ARECACEAE ),
  • Peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea, FABACEAE ),
  • Cotton ( Gossypium species, MALVACEAE ),
  • Sesame ( Sesamum species, PEDALIACEAE ),
  • Sugar Cane ( Saccharum officinarum, POACEAE ), and
  • Tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum, SOLANACEAE ).

    Agrotis interjectionis
    female
    ((Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adults have grey or brown forewings, each bearing a dark oval, a pale oval, and a dark kidney-shaped mark. The hindwings are off-white, shading to pale brown along the costa and hind-margin. At rest the moth holds its wings like a tent over its body. The moth has a wingspan of about 3.5 cms.

    The species occurs across south-east Asia including

  • Malaysia,
  • Fiji,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Achille Guenée,
    Noctuélites,
    in Boisduval & Guenée:
    Histoire Naturelle des Insectes; Spécies Général des Lépidoptères,
    Volume 9, Part 5 (1852), p. 281, No. 454.

    R. P. Gustaaf Hulstaert,
    On Lepidoptera from New Guinea, Kei, Teuimher, the Philippines, and Australia,
    Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
    Volume 9, Part 11 (1923), p. 189.

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    (written 18 March 2019, updated 10 October 2025)