Mythimna unipuncta
Mythimna unipuncta, the true armyworm moth, white-speck moth, common armyworm or rice armyworm, is a nocturnal agricultural pest belonging to the family Noctuidae. This moth is also commonly referred to by the scientific name Pseudaletia unipuncta. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. Mythimna unipuncta is found in the Americas and in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia. Its original distribution is North and South America. It has been introduced to other places from there. They are known as armyworms because the caterpillars move in lines as a massive group, like an army, from field to field, damaging crops.The true armyworm has a distinct migration pattern in which they travel north in the spring and south in the fall to ensure that mating occurs in a favorable environment in the summer. While progressing through the life cycle stages of egg, larva, pupa, and adult, this species must avoid attack from predatory bugs, birds, wasp and fly parasitoids, and bacterial and fungal diseases. As polygamous insects, females release sex pheromones and choose multiple males as mates. The production and release of the pheromones are influenced by temperature, photoperiod, and the juvenile hormone. Hearing is an important sense for the true armyworm, necessary for mating and evading bat predation.()
