Burdock Borer Moth (Papaipema cataphracta)

Location/Date: Under our porch light on 10/21/09.

Size: Wingspan 29-45 mm

Range: Quebec and Maine to Florida, west to Louisiana, north to Saskatchewan.


Season: Adults fly from August to October.

Food: Larvae bore in rhizomes and stems of aster, burdock, corn, cottonwood, iris, lily, sunflower, thistle, tomato, and other plants.

Source: BugGuide

Image of larva in inside stem available on Forestry Images.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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Burdock Borer Moth (Papaipema cataphracta)

Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

For such a large plant, burdock has an relatively inconspicuous little bloom -- a lot more inconspicuous than the burrs it forms in the fall.

Links:

Previous post showing burdock burrs. 

Missouri Flora 

Virginia Tech Weed ID Guide

Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

Burdock

Since we began walking in the woods again, Jo, I and the dogs have been doing an excellent job of collecting and disbursing burdock seeds. There's quite a lot of burdock growing along some sections of the trail we normally walk.

A close look at burdock burrs makes it easy to see why they adhere so easily and so tenaciously to pants, socks, shoe laces and dogs' fur. It's also easy to see how burdock burrs served as the inspiration for the invention of Velcro.

Missouri Plants has more information and prettier photos of burdock plants and blooms.

Burdock