About Lacanobia oleracea Linnaeus, 1758
Lacanobia oleracea Linnaeus, 1758 has a wingspan ranging from 35 to 40 mm. Its forewings are red-brown, clouded with darker tones; veins are grey, turning whitish toward the termen. The upper portion of the reniform stigma is orange, while the lower portion is dark fuscous. The orbicular stigma is round, white-edged, and sometimes very small. The submarginal line is finely white, and toothed along veins 3 and 4 extending to the termen. The hindwing is dull whitish, turning pale fuscous toward the termen, with dark veins. This species shows distinct ground color variation: the form ab. obscura Spul has black brown ground color, while ab. rufa Tutt has rufous ground color; ab. variegata Aust, found in Morocco, is paler and reddish yellow. The larva is green or brown, dotted with white, with black and yellow spiracular lines along its side that have darker edging. Its tubercles are black. Larvae feed on a wide variety of plants, and are occasionally a pest of cultivated tomatoes. This species overwinters in the pupal stage. Adults are on wing from the second half of June through July. Occasionally, a second generation emerges from the end of August to the first half of September. It primarily inhabits cultivated areas including gardens, park landscapes, and fallow land that support suitable forage plants. It can also be found in swamp forests, valley floors, and floodplains.
