The zebra caterpillar is the larva of an American noctuid moth (Melanchra picta) that feeds on cabbages, beets and other cultivated plants.

The head, thorax, and forewings of adults are chestnut- or reddish-brown, usually with purplish brown mottling on the wings.

The more mature caterpillars vary in color, often displaying bright and conspicuous hues, usually with prominent black and light yellow longitudinal stripes.

The larvae first feed in small compact groups until molting, after which they scatter throughout the foliage.

This caterpillar often exists in a mixed population with the bertha armyworm and the variegated cutworm.