Tobacco Budworm Moth
Chloridea virescens (Fabricius, 1777)
Family: Noctuidae
Subfamily: Heliothentinae
Identification: Forewing pale green with 3 nearly parallel lines as in Subflexus Straw, but usually no white edging on basal side of median line. Postmedian line ends before reaching costa and is not continued to apex by black dash. Reniform spot outline darker, outer side more curved. Hindwing white, usually with prominent gray shading, though this is absent in some males.
Wing Span: 2.7-3.8 cm.
Life History:
Flight: 2 broods, May - October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Larva is a serious pest on tobacco. First brood larvae eat buds while second brood eat flowers and seedpods. Also feeds on ageratum, geraniums, roses, and members of the nightshade family.
Adult Food:
Habitat:
Range: Maine and southern Ontario to Florida, west to Nebraska and Texas.
Conservation:
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs:
Taxonomy Notes: Formerly in the genus Heliothis. See Pogue (2013), Lafontaine & Schmidt (2015), Lafontaine & Schmidt, 2015: 140.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Heliothis virescens
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 121 - 144 of 241 verified sightings
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_0016_caterpillar_on_petunia_large_082219.jpg?itok=REuFPRqs)
Observation date: Aug 23, 2019
Submitted by: LauraQ
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 22, 2019
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20190910_191210.jpg?itok=kvtyobTo)
Observation date: Sep 10, 2019
Submitted by: Jwysojr
Region: Union County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 11, 2019
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_20190816_094412.jpg?itok=UZycrJO0)
Observation date: Aug 20, 2019
Submitted by: Staleyb
Region: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 22, 2019
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/acq9fwtdtjufxtfg2szylw.jpg?itok=11GKiS8P)
Observation date: Aug 06, 2019
Submitted by: tirvine2020
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 08, 2019
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/tb_5.png?itok=KfGR1tif)
Observation date: Nov 14, 2016
Submitted by: hydapse
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Feb 04, 2019
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_20181009_153001_09oct2018_8pm.jpg?itok=L7PkXIZw)
Observation date: Oct 09, 2018
Submitted by: Shane Miller
Region: Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Nov 13, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/2018-09-02-16-03-01_img_4874.jpg?itok=GgnIQkFg)
Observation date: Sep 02, 2018
Submitted by: treichard
Region: Howard County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 29, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/41238383_10156591985324144_3311616408818810880_n.jpg?itok=r8YKZy78)
Observation date: Sep 05, 2018
Submitted by: Lucydill
Region: Blount County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 23, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/heliocheilus_turbata_d.jpg?itok=IImIq9rV)
Observation date: Sep 30, 2018
Submitted by: Cjoll
Region: Porter County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 22, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/tobacco_budworm.jpg?itok=BGI-9WQS)
Observation date: Aug 31, 2018
Submitted by: bkohler
Region: Clermont County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 02, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/schinia_trifascia_delran_nj_8-21-18_700am.jpg?itok=Vkw-hznX)
Observation date: Aug 21, 2018
Submitted by: tom nolan
Region: Burlington County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 01, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/chloridea_virescens_tobacco_budworm_moth_6718_img_6373.jpg?itok=-Nh016b2)
Observation date: Jun 07, 2018
Submitted by: MothLady41
Region: DeSoto County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 30, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/051318_penstemon_caterpillar.jpg?itok=ihF_h8MO)
Observation date: May 13, 2018
Submitted by: Laurie Sheppard
Region: Grayson County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: May 14, 2018
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/heliothis_virescens_1_of_1.jpg?itok=Nb0inxsG)
Observation date: Sep 22, 2017
Submitted by: drkilmer
Region: Dorchester County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 24, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/84971752-88c0-4255-93af-8785e83a6785.jpeg?itok=162YRaNT)
Observation date: Nov 01, 2017
Submitted by: Rreeves79
Region: Texas, Williamson County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 19, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/image_685.jpeg?itok=Bpmxeiqu)
Observation date: Jun 24, 2016
Submitted by: katrinabd
Region: Richland County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: jdzadik
Verified date: Oct 01, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/2017-08-11-21-02-40_img_0959.jpg?itok=n09rvK4_)
Observation date: Aug 11, 2017
Submitted by: treichard
Region: Howard County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 29, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/tobacco_budworm.jpg?itok=0sFgBXqo)
Observation date: Aug 04, 2017
Submitted by: johnmiller
Region: Bradley County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: Ken Childs
Verified date: Aug 04, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/img_2174.jpg?itok=FHCgFGYs)
Observation date: Jul 12, 2017
Submitted by: Chauserman
Region: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 15, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/filefield_paths/original_93.jpeg?itok=V9_s6ok5)
Observation date: Sep 08, 2016
Submitted by: Bennet
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 06, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/11071_heliothis_virescens_tobacco_budworm_moth_mcr_040617_r52a0461b_1.jpg?itok=q9ca5foa)
Observation date: Apr 06, 2017
Submitted by: ribitzki49
Region: Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Apr 11, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/chloridea_virescens_-_tobacco_budworm_moth_-_hodges11071_at_hq_cropped_3-23-17_sjm_canon_41.jpg?itok=DIb9Rfit)
Observation date: Mar 23, 2017
Submitted by: Stuart Marcus
Region: Texas, Liberty County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 28, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_3882_0.jpg?itok=xU32zmqu)
Observation date: Sep 08, 2015
Submitted by: Jared Satchell
Region: Talbot County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Mar 20, 2017
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org./sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20161016_174331.jpg?itok=kCpmGYq1)
Observation date: Oct 16, 2016
Submitted by: Jenmg012
Region: Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 16, 2016
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