Soybean Looper Moth and Looper Moth Caterpillar

It wasn't easy to get photos of this moth because it never stayed still and the wings were constantly flapping. This is a Soybean Looper Moth which can be seen flying from April to November. They are native to subtropical regions and in the warm months, they migrate north.

You can find these moths on or near their hosts plants, where the females lay their eggs. The Soybean Looper caterpillars feed on leaves of soybeans, lettuce, tomato, sweet potato, peanut and vegetables in the cabbage family.

You know how happy I am when I can get a photo of my subjects face. Yay!

The larvae of Soybean Looper moths and Cabbage Lopper moths are small and green with a white stripe down each side. They both look like inchworms because they make loops with their body when they crawl. Since I saw a Soybeen Looper moth, I thought for sure this caterpillar was the larvae of his moth. However, there were no black spots on it, and its true legs were not black. So my research tells me that this is the larvae of the Cabbage Looper moth.

I know I have the right name for the moth because it looks identical to the Soybean Looper moth posted here: source

Thanks for stopping by!

Information Source: insectidentification.org, ag.tennessee.edu, bugguide.net

Image Source: All photos are my own.

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