Nebraska Academy of Sciences
Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies
Date of this Version
1980
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Certain aspects of the life cycle of the spurge hawkmoth, Hyles euphorbiae L. (Sphingidae), were studied to evaluate it as a possible biological control agent for leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) in Nebraska. There are five phases in the life cycle of this insect: egg, larva, prepupa, pupa, and adult. It is a foliage-feeding insect and consumes about 18 g fresh weight of leafy spurge during its larval life. About 80% of the leafy spurge consumption is by the fifth instar. A generation may be completed in a period of 42 to 72 days. The spurge hawkmoth overwinters as a pupa, emerges as the adult in spring, and begins egg laying about the time leafy spurge begins to bloom.
Comments
1980. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, VIIl:31-34. Copyright © 1980 Forwood and McCarty