Identification
Antennae uniformly colored (i.e. all antennal segments are the same color: dull reddish or orangish); flange on hind tibia gently tapering distally; male hind femur greatly swollen and bearing a large spike; female hind femur slender and bearing several small spikes.
Range
southern United States (North Carolina to Florida, west to Oklahoma and Texas)
Habitat
Usually found on brush and small trees in forests, woodlands, and old fields.
Season
Spring-fall (North Carolina)
Life Cycle
Orange, elongated eggs are cemented to leaves. One or two generations per year, more in south Florida.
See Also
A. confraterna and A. terminalis do not have uniformly reddish antennae (the basal three segments of their antennae are dark, and the apical segment is bright orangish)
A. declivis does not have a gently tapered flange on the hind tibia (its flange is
bluntly truncated distally), and its humeral angles are
greatly expanded.
Print References
Slater, p. 58, fig. 89
(1)
Salsbury, p. 97--photo
(2)
Milne, p. 481, fig. 103
(3)
Brimley, p. 64, states occurs in eastern and central North Carolina for "whole season".
(4)Internet References
live adult images of female (floridanature.org)
key to species [at bottom of page] of the 4 Florida
Acanthocephala species (U. of Florida)
