Turnip Moth

Fascinating facts about the Turnip Moth

• Male turnip moths display pure white hind-wings while females have a pearly grey shade, a colour split that is the main feature distinguishing Agrotis segetum from its close relatives. Although the fore-wings vary widely from pale buff to almost black, the hind-wing hue remains consistent for each sex, providing a reliable field mark for identification.
• The larvae of the turnip moth cut the lower stems of seedlings, effectively pulling young plants out of the soil. This behaviour frequently damages the roots and lower stems of a huge range of crops, making the species a serious pest of root vegetables and cereals, and it is classified as a cutworm.
• In Britain the turnip moth produces two distinct generations each summer, with adults on the wing in May-June and again in August-September. These flight periods correspond to the two broods that emerge from overwintering caterpillars. The moth is nocturnal, drawn to artificial light and to nectar-rich flowers during its active hours. After the summer flights, the species overwinters as a caterpillar, ready to resume development when conditions improve.
• The turnip moth's caterpillars can be overtaken by a specialised fungus. Researchers have identified Tarichium megaspermum, an Entomophthorales fungus, inside infected larvae. The pathogen kills the worm and then fills the hollowed body with a finely granular mass of thick-walled spores. This lethal infection is one of several natural enemies that attack the species in its egg and larval stages.
• A virus aimed at controlling turnip moths was first recovered in the former USSR during the late 1960s. The agent, Agrotis segetum granulovirus DA, belongs to the Betabaculovirus group and was the subject of further study in the 1970s. However, evaluations up to 2017 showed it had never become a commercially viable biocontrol product for crops. Consequently it remains a research curiosity rather than a practical tool.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Turnip Moth

As the sun dips below the horizon, the turnip moth stirs, its delicate wings unfolding like a whispered secret, as it takes to the evening air with a gentle, lapping flight. With an unassuming beauty, it navigates the twilight world, its mottled brown wings beating in a slow, hypnotic rhythm, drawing it irresistibly to the sweet scent of ripening crops. In this fleeting, crepuscular realm, the turnip moth reigns, a master of the shadows, its nocturnal wanderings a testament to the mysterious, unseen lives that thrive in the hidden corners of our world.

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