Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Abagrotis variata - Hodges#11032

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Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)
Tribe Noctuini
Subtribe Noctuina
Genus Abagrotis
Species variata (Abagrotis variata - Hodges#11032)
Hodges Number
11032
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Abagrotis variata (Grote(1), 1876)
Agrotis ariata Grote, 1876
Size
Forewing length 16-19 mm. (2)
Identification
Adult: forewing dark brown or reddish-brown with pale grayish terminal band; reniform and orbicular spots faint or obscure; AM and PM lines pale gray, irregular, usually diffuse or patchy; hindwing dark gray with blackish veins and pale yellowish or white fringe
Range
British Columbia to California(3), east to New Mexico and Alberta. (4)
Habitat
riparian habitats in western forests
Season
adults fly mostly in August and September, sometimes as early as June
Food
larvae feed on leaves of flowering trees and shrubs, particularly willow
See Also
Abagrotis pulchrata forewing has brighter and more prominent AM and PM lines, and more distinct reniform and orbicular spots
Internet References
pinned adult image specimen records, and flight season chart (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
description of adult plus habitat, foodplants, similar species (Jeff Miller, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands, USGS)
presence in California; list of 9 specimen records with dates and locations (U. of California at Berkeley)
presence in Utah; list (Joel Johnson, Utah Lepidopterists Society)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)