Ctenoplusia albostriata is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Noctuidae

Noctuidae

The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....

 family. It is found in eastern Asia and the Pacific, including Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, most of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is about 30 mm. Adults are fawn with a prominent white bar diagonally across each forewing.

The larvae feed on various plants, including Conyza bonariensis

Conyza bonariensis

Conyza bonariensis is a species of Conyza, found throughout the tropics and subtropics as a weed; its precise native origin is unknown, but most likely Central America or South America...

and several other Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 species, as well as Dichrostachys cinerea

Dichrostachys cinerea

Dichrostachys cinerea, known as the Sicklebush, Bell mimosa, Chinese lantern tree or Kalahari Christmas tree , is a legume of the genus Dichrostachys in the Fabaceae family....

. Other recorded food plants include Erigeron

Erigeron

Erigeron is a genus of about 390 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest species diversity in North America, where 173 species occur....

, Symphytum

Symphytum

Symphytum is a genus in the Boraginaceae family. Its species are known by the common name comfrey. Some species and hybrids, particularly S. officinale and S. × uplandicum, are used in gardening and herbal medicine.Species include:...

, Calystegia

Calystegia

Calystegia is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the bindweed family Convolvulaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution in temperate and subtropical regions, but with half of the species endemic to California...

, Elephantopus

Elephantopus

Elephantopus is a genus of at least twelve species of perennials in the daisy family. Several species are native to the southeastern United States, and at least one is native to India and the Himalayas.- Uses :...

, Calendula

Calendula

Calendula , pot marigold, is a genus of about 12–20 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the area from Macaronesia east through the Mediterranean region to Iran...

, Callistephus

Callistephus

Callistephus is a genus of flowering plants, in the Asteraceae ; the genus includes only one species, C. chinensis, the China Aster....

, Dahlia

Dahlia

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia, some like D. imperialis up to 10 metres tall. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants...

, Solidago, Aster

Aster

Aster may refer to:* Aster , a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae* Callistephus, another genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, commonly called Aster or Chinese Aster...

, Abelia

Abelia

Abelia is a genus of about 15-30 species and many hybrids in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae Some authors, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, considers Abelia and related genera to belong instead in the segregate family Linnaeaceae, also including such genera as Linnaea, Abelia,...

, Dichrocephala

Dichrocephala

Dichrocephala is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae....

and Polygonum

Polygonum

Polygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...

. They are green pseudo-loopers, with sparse hairs with white tips. Pupation takes place in a loose cocoon in a curled up leaf.

External links

• Australian Faunal Directory
• Australian Insects
• The Moths of Borneo
• Caterpillar Hostplants Database (as Agrapha albostriata)