Other Common Names
referred to as Sharks in Europe
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Rancora and 17 other former genera were treated as junior synonyms of
Cucullia by Poole in 1989 and 1995 (
Brian Pitkin, Butterflies and Moths of the World)
Explanation of Names
CUCULLIA: from the Latin "cucullus" (a hood) - referring to the tuft of hairs projecting over the adult's head like a hood
Numbers
There are thirty-six
Cucullia species found in America north of Mexico.
(1)Identification
Adult: mostly drab gray moths with some fine black streaking; forewing long and narrow; tuft of hairs projecting from thorax forms a large pointed hood over the head, giving adults a streamlined "aerodynamic" appearance (a distinctive feature)
Larva: usually smooth (hairless) and very colorful, with mixed patterns of spots, stripes, and/or patches of mostly yellow, red, green, blue, and black - the range of variation between species is too complex to describe in general terms
Range
all of North America except the arctic (AK, YT, NT, NU)
also occurs throughout Eurasia and northern Africa
Habitat
mainly coniferous and mixed forest
Season
adults spring through fall
Food
larvae feed on flowers of composite plants (family Asteraceae) and leaves of several trees - varies according to species
Remarks
majority of North American species occur in the west
Print References
Lafontaine JD, Schmidt BC (2010) Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America North of Mexico.
p. 52.
(2)Internet References
pinned adult thumbnail images of 17 species occurring in western Canada (CBIF)
pinned adult images of 7 species occurring in eastern Canada (CBIF)
live larva and adult images of
C. montanae plus other info (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)
classification of Cucullia as a valid genus brought out of synonymy by Ronkay and Ronkay, 1995, Noctuidae Europaeae, 7 (2) : 10. (Brian Pitkin, Butterflies and Moths of the World)
Rancora treated as a synonym of
Cucullia (Brian Pitkin, Butterflies and Moths of the World)
list of world species plus synonyms, range maps, and some photos (Markku Savela, FUNET)
