Solblight Cutworm

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A kind of owlet moth and cutworm which are incredibly wide-spread, found on nearly every continent of Emynea! They feed on the foliage of fruits and vegetables, larva a major agricultural pest which damages or outright destroys gardens and fields. Solblight thrive in warm and sunny climates and are vastly migratory, consistently bleeding over into new habitats. These moths feed mainly at dusk, hiding in the soil or under any shelter they can find during the day. They are even known to sneak into greenhouses, eating a large amount of food as they grow.

Much like any Solar Moth, the Solblight Cutworm can absorb and store radiant energy in its body which includes sunlight, radiation and solar plasma--most at home along the coasts of Shamsi Desert. Caterpillars can also transform their mandibles into solar plasma, capable of chewing through just about anything with their searing bite! Others are able to heal by hibernating inside of soil or have the ability to sense their target crops or fruits over long distances! Understandably, this has made them a far larger threat to farms and orchards and vastly more tenacious.

Consumer

Prey

Herbivore

Diurnal

Migratory

Gregarious

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Kaithur

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First Ability

Rithaldis' Charge

Thanks to Rithaldis' Charge, solar moths can absorb and store up radiant energy inside their bodies without limit and cannot be harmed by radiant energy (sunlight, radiation, solar plasma). They can convert this into magic energy, use it to strengthen their muscles or re-release it like an Aura at will. However, unlike most other manifestations, they cannot produce their own radiant energy--they are reliant on a source.

Second Ability

Rithaldis' Form

Those inheriting Rithaldis' Form can convert parts of their body into a kind of radiant energy (photons, plasma, sunlight, ionizing radiation) or has these incorporated into their magic form. Larva usually convert their mandibles or spots, but each caterpillar is unique. The cocoon of pupa can be converted into plasma. In adults, this ability is focused to their legs, their fur or even their wings, both beautiful and defensive against predators without solar magic!

Oril's Sleep

Solblight with Oril's Sleep can induce sleep onto a target or themselves while surrounded by organic soil. The target will gestate until the caster releases the effect or until removed from the soil. Healing occurs in this regenerative state and they become resistant to various forms of damage. Most often, Solblight use this to hibernate in colder climates, emerging once temperatures rise, while others use this ability when injured.

Barnok/Lithyr's Sense

Those Solblight inheriting Barnok or Lithyr's Sense are able to feel either flowers, herbs and fruit or domesticated plants such as grains, greens and vegetables in their environment. They can do so despite barriers and over considerable distances, able to differentiate and identify specimens. Those inheriting this ability will lead swarms of migrating Solbright moths to the best feeding sites!

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Anatomy

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Original Ancestor	Lifespan
Pearly Underwing/Variegated Cutworm Peridroma saucia	4-8 Weeks
Wingspan	Pupa Size
43-50 mm 1.7-2 inches	15-23 mm long 5-6 mm wide

Coloration

Caterpillars are brownish gray to grayish black with yellow or white spots on their back. They also have a black W marking and their head is orange-brown with dark spots. Pupa are mahogany brown. The front wings of an adult are grayish-brown with a red undertone and darker brown markings along the edges and center. Their are also 7 short black marks. Its hindwings are opalescent or white with brown viens and shading along the edges. Its head and body are dark brown with a lighter abdomen. In their magic form, much of their body turns white and glow the more radiant energy they have stored away. Otherwise their appearance changes based on their second kaithur. These range from green or lime green, rich reddish brown or further white markings which gleam like sunlight!

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Habitat

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Rural

Shrubland

Semi-Desert

Coastal

These are a widespread species, migrating north or south in the Continent Beyond, Eluziar, Yaxiya and northern Alkelbulan! They are most comfortable in agricultural areas and shrubland, especially in areas with rugged terrain. Solblight may even be found in coastal settlements or fields, tolerant to both moist and dry conditions. These cutworms overwinter as larvae and as adults, but they can't withstand temperatures below 0 C (32 F). Most frequently, Solblight moths migrate south between May and November, travelling together in large numbers as they move from feeding site to feeding site, thankfully far less destructive as adults!

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Diet

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Herbivore

Folivore

Frugivore

Xylophage

Solblight caterpillars are defoliators, stripping the leaves and fruit of plants and eating their buds and stems. They have been known to feed on vegetables including beets, cabbage, lettuce, potato, alfalfa, plantain, corn and sugarbeet as well as fruits such as tomato, apple, apricot, avocado, cherry, currant, gooseberry, grape, lemon, mulberry, orange, plum, rasberry and strawberry. While they prefer fruit and vegetable plants, they might also feed on barley, clover, cotton, flax, hops, mint, sunflower, sweet clover, tobacco, wheat, jimsonweed, dogfennel, ragweed and shepherds purse.

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Life Cycle

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Oviparous

Promiscuous

Precocial

Solblight moths reproduce and lay eggs just two weeks after pupating into adults, females releasing pheromones to attract a mate. These are such a difficult pest to manage because they are highly prolific, laying mass amount of eggs and producing several generations in a single year! The number of eggs lain depends on the climate, especially numerous between 18-24 C (65-75 F), despite the fact that adults live longer in cooler environments around 15 C (60 F). One female can lay anywhere between 1,200 and 1,400 eggs over the course of her life!

Eggs are laid on leaves or stems of desireable host plants. Freshly laid eggs are white, browning further as it ages and laid in large clusters. When temperature are between 20-30 C (68-86 F), eggs hatch after 4-6 days whereas in 15 C (60 F) or cooler, eggs hatch after ten days. Caterpillars of this species go through 6 instars before metamorphosis, 6 different phases of growth. Each of these instars last anywhere from 4-6 days during which they grow from 1-5 millimeters each time. The longest instar is the final one, lasting around 17 days and growing around 10 mm. Pupas undergo metamorphosis for around 13-33 days depending on the climate.

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Impact as Pests

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In their larval phase, these moths are considered one of the worst agricultural pests. They often destroy smaller herbaceous plants by consuming it from where it emerges from the soil, destroying the whole plant in the process. But they are also known to climb trees to feed on their fruit, buds and leaves. Solblight caterpillars feed rapidly in large numbers, entire gardens or fields destroyed in a number of days! But they feed mainly in warmer months, the damage they cause scaling down in August before they seemingly disappear ent‏irely. Methods of combating Solblight include fastidious cleaning of gardens and fields, removing weeds and detritus which they often hide underneath. Oddly enough, digging a trench or ditch around crops around 12 inches deep also contains or confuses larva.

Some methods are more extreme, going so far as to spread pitch or tar around the base of trees infused with void magic, but this must be reapplied every few days to be effective. Perhaps the most reasonable and reliable way of protecting fields is to allow poultry to forage the area! Impangele Hen especially target both larva and adult Solblight Cutworms.