{{Short description|Species of moth}} {{Speciesbox | image = Lily moth Adult Up Polytela gloriosae (29856335143) (cropped).jpg | image_caption = | taxon = Polytela gloriosae | authority = (Fabricius, 1781) | synonyms = *''Bombyx gloriosae'' <small>Fabricius, 1775</small> }}

'''''Polytela gloriosae''''', the '''Indian lily moth''' or '''lily caterpillar''', is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1781.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/218c23b5b3ddfc8e1c6d1cb055304270 |title=Species Details: ''Polytela gloriosae'' Fabricius, 1781 |website=Catalogue of Life |access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref> It is found in Sri Lanka,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koçak |first1=Ahmet Ömer |last2=Kemal |first2=Muhabbet |date=20 February 2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1782757 |title=Preliminary list of the Lepidoptera of Sri Lanka |journal=Cesa News |publisher=Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara |issue=79 |pages=1–57 |via=Academia}}</ref> India and probably in Indonesia.<ref>{{cite web |last=Savela |first=Markku |url=http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/noctuoidea/noctuidae/hadeninae/polytela/#gloriosae |title=''Polytela gloriosae'' (Fabricius, 1775) |website=Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms |access-date=13 October 2018}}</ref>

==Description== The wingspan of the male is 29&nbsp;mm. Its eyes are hairy and its proboscis is fully developed. Palpi porrect (extending forward) and roughly scaled. Head and thorax are blue black. Antennae orange. Three orange specks are found on the metathorax. Abdomen blackish with orange terminal segments. Forewings blue black. There is an orange speck at the base. Two pink and black lunules run towards the inner margin. Orbicular is yellow with a ring mark. Reniform yellowish. Large orange blotches are found at the apex and outer angle. Hindwings fuscous.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/268944 |title=''Polytela gloriosae'' Fabricius, 1781 |website=India Biodiversity Portal|access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref>

The caterpillar is smooth and purple black. Series of white spots on dorsal, lateral, and sublateral areas. Purplish lateral blotches on thoracic somites. Head and legs are reddish. Early instars are more reddish brown. Body colour turns darker as the caterpillar reaches later instars. Eggs are small spherical and yellow.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lepidopteralifecycle.blogspot.com/2017/10/life-cycle-images-of-polytela-gloriosae.html |title=Life Cycle images of ''Polytela gloriosae'' (Lily Moth) |website=Lepidoptera Life Cycle|date=26 October 2017 |access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref>

==Life cycle== The female lays 80 to 90 eggs in 2 to 4 clusters. Eggs are hatched within 4 days. Eggs turn black after 3 days. Larval stage comprises five instars. It takes about 8 to 10 days to complete the larval stage.<ref name=lilymothbio>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269072539 |title=Biology, intrinsic rate of increase and control of Indian lily moth ''Polytela gloriosae'' (Fab.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)|journal=International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

*First instar - 3–10&nbsp;mm long. Head black, body light brown. Gregarious and feeding starts six hours after hatching. Stage lasts for 1-1.5 days. *Second instar - 1–2&nbsp;cm long. Head black. Body light brown with white spots. Stage lasts for 1.5 days. *Third instar - 2–3&nbsp;cm long. Head black. Body with 5 black spot rows and 6 orange spots. Feed voraciously on leaves. Stage lasts for 2 days. *Fourth instar - 3-3.8&nbsp;cm long. Head black. Body with 5 white spot rows on back and 6 orange spots anteriorly and posteriorly. Feeds on tissues. Stage lasts for 2 days. *Fifth instar - 3.5–4&nbsp;cm long. Head black. Body with 5 white spot rows and 6 orange spots anteriorly and posteriorly. Feeds on tissues and plant destroyed completely. Stage lasts for 2.5 days.

Pupa obtect. Anterior side broader. Early stages light coloured. It turns dark brownish to blackish in emergence time. Pupation occurs within soil in earthen cell. Stage lasts for 7.5 days.<ref name=lilymothbio />

==Biology== The caterpillar is a minor pest on several plants of the families Liliaceae and Amaryllidaceae. Larval food plants include ''Gloriosa superba'', ''Crinum asiaticum'', ''Zephyranthes carinata'', ''Zephyranthes citrina'', ''Scadoxus multiflorus'', ''Amaryllis'' and ''Lilium'' species.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbair.res.in/insectpests/Polytela-gloriosae.php |title=''Polytela gloriosae'' (Fabricius) |publisher=ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> They can be controlled using pesticides such as malathion and azadirachtin. Biological control can be used through the fungus ''Metarhizium'' and a tachinid fly.<ref name=lilymothbio />

==Gallery== <gallery> Lily moth Adult Un Polytela gloriosae (30401865311).jpg|Underside of adult Indian Lily Moth (Caterpillar Stage).jpg|Caterpillar Polytela gloriosae-Kadavoor-2016-08-23-002.jpg|Late instar Polytela gloriosae-Kadavoor-2016-08-23-004.jpg|Caterpillar Lily moth pupa Polytela gloriosae (29856334673).jpg|Pupa </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Polytela gloriosae}} *[https://eurekamag.com/research/002/766/002766301.php Biology of the lily moth, ''Polytela gloriosae'' (Fab.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on ''Gloriosa superba'' Linn] *[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16296173 Changes taking place in the electrophoretic haemolymph protein pattern during metamorphosis of ''Polytela gloriosae''] *[http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US19810678982 Asynaptic meiosis in three species of lepidopteran males ''Arctia ricini'', ''Polytela gloriosae'', ''Precis lemonias'' 1978] *[https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/app/uploads/2017/06/2010nis239-244.pdf Late Instar Caterpillar and Metamorphosis of ''Spodoptera picta'' Guérin-Méneville (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Noctuinae) With Notes On Its Cannibalistic Behaviour]

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Category:Moths of Asia Category:Moths described in 1781 Category:Glottulinae