Nephelodes minians

Bronzed Cutworm

I found this caterpillar, completely smothered in gritty dust, struggling manfully but unsuccessfully to cross a path near the beach just outside Victoria in early July. It was trying to find somewhere to pupate. I gave him a good wash and brush, and a nice supply of sterilized potting soil, for which he was grateful, and he immediately pupated. My guess is that he had probably been feeding on the grass Elymus molli. I gather that the caterpillar is sometimes a serious pest on maize (corn), and has earned the name in agricultural circles the Bronzed Cutworm. He spent only about three weeks as a pupa; the moth emerged in the second week of August.