Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Noctuidae Members:	Helicoverpa Members:	455 NC Records

Helicoverpa zea (Boddie, 1850) - Corn Earworm Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Noctuidae

Subfamily:
Heliothinae

P3 Number:
932045

MONA Number:
11068.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Heliothis zea); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution:

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.


Flight Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge
Immature Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: This species occurs in croplands, wastelands, old fields, and other open, herbaceous habitats.

Larval Host Plants: One of the major crop pests around the world, larvae feed on a very wide range of herbaceous plants, belonging to many families. Wagner et al. (2011) specifically list asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), soybean (Glycine max), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), ground-cherry (Physalis), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and corn (Zea mays). In North Carolina, larvae have been reared from corn. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Fields, Gardens, and Ruderal Habitats

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S5]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Helicoverpa zea - Corn Earworm Moth

183 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-09-06 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-08-25 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-24 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-08-22 Halifax Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-08-22 Halifax Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-08-22 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-08-22 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-08-21 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-18 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-15 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-15 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-15 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Marilyn Westphal. on 2025-08-09 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-08-02 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-26 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-07-24 Forsyth Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Sarah Toner on 2025-07-22 Tyrrell Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-21 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-20 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rob Van Epps, Kevin Metcalf on 2025-07-20 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-07-19 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-29 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-18 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-12 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-05-02 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-04-28 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-10-26 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-10-13 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-10-13 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp on 2024-10-03 Johnston Co. Comment: