Cucumber moth (Diaphania indica)

Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
Diaphania indica	May 25, 2026	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Greetings to all in the Nature Observer community

After taking a picture of the strange and beautiful moth hiding upside down under a blade of grass, I started researching it. From Wikipedia and other sources, I have learned some wonderful and scientific information about its life cycle and nature, which I have presented for you below:

​Name: Its common name is Cucumber moth or Cotton caterpillar.
​Scientific name: The scientific name of the moth is Diaphania indica.
​Family: It belongs to the Crambidae family, which is commonly called the Grass moth family.
​Genus: Its genus or genus is Diaphania.

​Size: These moths are not very large in size, their wingspan is about 30 millimeters.

​Native and habitat: Their native or place of origin is South Asia. However, they are now widely distributed in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world (such as Australia and some parts of Africa) except for the American continent.

​Food: They are mainly polyphagous or insects that eat a variety of foods. The main food of their caterpillars or larvae is the leaves of cucumbers, gourds, sweet pumpkins, and plants of the Cucurbitaceae family. They also eat the leaves of the Levant cotton plant.

​Reproduction: Female moths have an excellent strategy to attract male moths for the purpose of reproduction. Unfertilized female moths sit with their light brown tuft of hair at the end of their abdomen fully extended, resembling two bunches of flowers. They then shake it slowly, releasing pheromones into the air.

​Benefits: There is no evidence that this insect is directly beneficial to humans.

​Disadvantages: It is a major headache for farmers, as it is known as a pest of crops. They cause extensive damage to the leaves of cucumbers and cucurbits in particular.

​Hope you enjoyed the information about this little insect.

I originally read its medicinal properties on Wikipedia and write it in my own language.
Source:

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.)
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	MIX
Cassidinae	Cucumber moth (Diaphania indica)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Link to original community
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/367097697

Latitude	Longitude	Map Link
24.3366	89.1130	https://www.openstreetmap.org/?#map=12/24.3366/89.1130