Bug FAQAlfalfa Looper Moth
Tathorhynchus exsiccata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Also called: Levant blackneck moth, Levant Blackneck
The alfalfa looper moth has a wingspan of about 40 mm. Its forewings are whitish with heavy grey-brown shading, pale spots marking the orbicular and reniform stigmata, a black dash between them, a pale outer line with preceding black marks, and a terminal row of black lunules; the hindwings are greyish-white, darker toward the edge. The nominate form lives on the Canary Islands, in North Africa, and across tropical Asia and Africa, while the subspecies *fallax* occurs in northern Australia, Norfolk Island, and New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Forewings are whitish, heavily overlaid with grey-brown, darker near the edge, with pale spots marking the orbicular and reniform stigmata separated by a black dash, plus a pale outer line preceded by black marks and a terminal row of black lunules; hindwings are greyish-white, darker at the margin.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan is about 40 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Subspecies *Tathorhynchus exsiccata fallax* occurs in the northern half of Australia, Norfolk Island, and New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae of the nominate form feed on indigo plant (*Indigofera tinctoria*), alfalfa (*Medicago sativa*), and Spanish broom (*Spartium junceum*). Larvae of the *fallax* subspecies probably feed on alfalfa (*Medicago sativa*).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The nominate form is native to the Canary Islands, North Africa, tropical Asia and tropical Africa. Subspecies *fallax* is native to northern Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 21 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Noctuidae)
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- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tathorhynchus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.