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Florida Fern Caterpillar

Callopistria floridensis[4]

The Florida fern caterpillar is a moth caterpillar that specializes on ferns, especially Boston and Kimberly Queen ferns.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Noctuidae
US records
39 states
Sources
4 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Florida fern moth with brown variegated wings spread
Florida fern moth with brown variegated wings spread. Photo: kcthetc1, public domain (CC0), via iNaturalist
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Where it lives
  3. Biology
  4. Damage and signs
  5. Health risk
  6. Control
  7. Related profiles
  8. Common questions
  9. Sources

How to identify it

  • Caterpillars grow to about 1 1/2 inches and vary from green with dark markings to brown or velvety black with fine pale markings.[1][2]
  • The moth is brownish with variegated, slightly ragged forewings with a dark reddish-brown triangle, and a wingspan just over 1 inch.[1]

Where it lives

Native to Florida and tropical America; it appears in greenhouses farther north, including Michigan, on plants shipped from the South.[1][2][3]

US map: public records from 39 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Eggs are laid singly under fern leaflets near the tips, about 465 per female in one study, and hatch in 5 to 7 days.[1][3]

Young caterpillars feed at night on tender leaflets; older ones hide on the stems at the base of the plant or in the soil by day, and mature in about 36 days.[1]

Damage and signs

  • Hosts include at least 14 fern species, such as Boston and sword ferns, maidenhair, holly fern, table and silver ferns and rabbit's foot fern, plus asparagus fern.[1][2]
  • Several caterpillars can severely damage a plant; heavy infestations are common in commercial greenhouses.[1][2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Traps and physical control

Shake infested ferns to dislodge caterpillars, and inspect new ferns before bringing them into a greenhouse.[1][3]

Biological control

A Bt product labeled for caterpillars (not a mosquito strain) controls them.[2]

Pesticides

Ferns are sensitive to many liquid pesticides; NC State suggests a dust, and Michigan State notes resistance to some pyrethroids.[1][3]

Common questions

What is eating my hanging Boston fern at night?
Often Florida fern caterpillars, which hide at the base of the plant by day.[1][2]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Florida Fern Caterpillar (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/florida-fern-caterpillar-1 (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. Mississippi State University Extension (Bug's Eye View), “Florida Fern Caterpillar (Bug's Eye View, Vol. 3, No. 24, 2017).” extension.msstate.edu/newsletters/bugs-eye-view/2017/florida-fern-caterpillar-vol-3-no-24 (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. Michigan State University Extension, “Florida fern caterpillar larvae found on Boston ferns in greenhouses (2015).” canr.msu.edu/news/florida_fern_caterpillar_larvae_found_on_boston_ferns_in_greenhouses (accessed 2026-10-16)
  4. iNaturalist, “Callopistria floridensis taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/143649 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.