Striga hermonthica Striga hermonthica Striga hermonthica, commonly known as purple witchweed or giant witchweed, is a hemiparasitic plant that belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. It is devastating to major crops such as sorghum ("Sorghum bicolor") and rice ("Oryza sativa"). In sub-Saharan Africa, apart from sorghum and rice, it also infests maize ("Zea mays"), pearl millet ("Pennisetum glaucum"), and sugar cane ("Saccharum officinarum"). "Striga hermonthica" has undergone horizontal gene transfer from "Sorghum" to its nuclear genome. The "S. hermonthica" gene, "ShContig9483", is most like a "Sorghum bicolor" gene, and additionally shows significant but lesser similarity to a gene from "Oryza sativa". It shows
Mythimna separata light dorsal stripe, with black-brown lateral stripe along spiracle line. spiracles brown with black rim. Pupae are yellowish brown and shiny. The moth flies from January to April depending on the location. The larvae feed on a range of agricultural plants like "Zea mays", "Sorghum bicolor" and "Oryza sativa" and are thus considered a pest. Caterpillars do not feed on "Momordica charantia" due to the presence of the triterpenoid glucoside called momordicine II, which is a natural inhibitor of caterpillar actions. China experiences periodic outbreaks of northern armyworm infestation. The outbreak in 2012 was particularly severe. Larva can be hand