Earias insulana, the Egyptian stemborer, Egyptian bollworm, spiny bollworm or cotton spotted bollworm, is a moth of the family Nolidae. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1833. It is found in most of Africa, southern Europe, the Near East and Middle East, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia and Hawaii. It is a rare in immigrant in Great Britain.
The wingspan is 20âÂÂ22 mm.
Full-grown larvae are 13âÂÂ18 mm long and their wingspan is generally about 24âÂÂ28 mm. It can be confused with the cream-bordered green pea (Earias clorana) or the spiny bollworm (Earias biplaga).
Pupation takes place in a felt-like cocoon, which is attached to dry leaves of the food plant or to plant debris on the ground. Typically, the pupal stage takes 9âÂÂ15 days, but may extend to up to two months if development is delayed by low temperatures.