Beet armyworm Order: Lepidoptera Family: Noctuidae Genus and species: Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) The beet army worm is a serious pest of a wide range of crops, including various table vegetables, cotton, cereals, flowers and tobacco. It also consumes many weed...

Armyworm Order: Lepidoptera Family: Noctuidae Genus and species: Mythimna unipuncta (Howarth) In the Entomological Society of America's list of common names of insects and related organisms, 10 distinct species are referred to as some type of "armyworm". Examples...

Copper underwing Order: Lepidoptera Family: Noctuidae Genus and species: Amphipyra pyramidoides Guenée Adult copper underwings have a fairly large wingspan, up to 2.3 inches, but smaller than those of most true underwings of the genus Catocala. The forewings are dark...

Tersa sphinx Order: Lepidoptera Family: Sphingidae Genus and species: (Linnaeus) Caterpillars of the tersa sphinx moth are sometimes found feeding on foliage of starclusters (Pentas species) in Arkansas flower gardens. They have also been recording feeding on...

Carolina sphinx, tobacco hornworm Order: Lepidoptera Family: Sphingidae Genus and species: Manduca sexta (Linnaeus) Tobacco hornworms, larvae of Carolina sphinx moths, are pests that often defoliate tomato plants and damage tomato fruit in Arkansas gardens. They are...

Snowberry clearwing Order: Lepidoptera Family: Sphingidae Genus and species: Hemaris diffinis (Boisduval) There are four species in the clearwing moth genus Hemaris in North America. The distinctive moths have areas of their wings that are clear and free of scales....

Luna moth Order: Lepidoptera Family: Saturniidae Genus and species: Actias luna (Linnaeus) Adult luna moths are often seen flying around lights on spring and summer evenings in Arkansas. They normally emerge from their cocoons in the morning and mate at night,...

Monarch butterfly Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae (Subfamily: Danainae) Genus and species: Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus) The monarch butterfly is one of North America's most iconic insects for several reasons. Both the adult and immature stages are aposematically...

Great spangled fritillary Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus and species: Speyeria cybele (Fabricius) The fritillaries are a subgroup of the brushfooted butterflies, family Nymphalidae. The silvered fritillaries, genus Speyeria, comprise 14 New World...

Black swallowtail caterpillar (parsleyworm) Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Genus and species: Papilio polyxenes Fabricius Caterpillars of black swallowtail butterflies, Papilio polyxenes, are various shades of green, with narrow black bands on each body...

Giant swallowtail, orange dog Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Genus and species: Papilio cresphontes Cramer Arkansas homeowners occasionally find odd looking caterpillars defoliating small, potted citrus plants. These caterpillars, which are protected from...

Silver-spotted skipper Order: Lepidoptera Family: Hesperiidae Genus and species: Epargyreus clarus (Cramer) This large, conspicuous, and easily identified skipper occurs in disturbed and open forest situations in southern Canada, most of the continental United States,...

Maple clearwing moth Order: Lepidoptera Family: Sesiidae Genus and species: Synanthedon acerrubri  Englehardt Moths of the family Sesiidae are called clearwing moths due to the dearth of scales on one or both pairs of long, narrow wings, which lends the insects a...

Stinging rose caterpillar Order: Lepidoptera Family: Limacodidae Genus and species: Parasa indetermina (Boisduval) The black-tipped spines on the elongate body wall projections have poison glands at their bases. Venom enters the skin of humans or animals when the...

Cross-striped cabbageworm Order: Lepidoptera Family: Pyralidae Genus and species: Evergestis rimosalis (Guenée) The cross-striped cabbageworm is a pest of Brassica crops, including cabbage, broccoli, turnips, Brussels sprouts, collards, rutabaga, rape, cauliflower,...

Indian meal moth Order: Lepidoptera Family: Pyralidae Genus and species: Plodia interpunctella Hübner The Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, is one of the most important household pests in Arkansas. It often infests dried fruits, nuts, cereals, powdered milk,...

Ailanthus webworm moth Order: Lepidoptera Family: Yponomeutidae Genus and sepcies: Atteva punctella (Cramer) In their native habitats of Central and South America, Ailanthus webworm caterpillars build communal webs in native trees of the family Simaroubaceae. The...

Bagworm Order: Lepidoptera Family: Psychidae Genus and species: Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth) Bagworms are among the most important pests of ornamental trees and shrubs in the eastern United States. They are native to North America, and they have only one...