Species Notodonta scitipennis - Finned-willow Prominent - Hodges#7926

7926

larva - Finned Willow Prominent (Caterpillars of Eastern Forests)

wingspan 35-48 mm

Adult: forewing bicolored - trailing half and outer edge mostly dark reddish-brown, and leading half mostly gray; orbicular spot indicated by a rusty streak, and reniform spot by a thin vertical rusty line; basal area has two blackish-brown streaks (giving rise to the common name); male has prominent dark "tooth" on inner margin halfway between base and anal angle

female hindwing dark reddish-brown; male hindwing white with dark anal mark

Larva: outline unique with backward projecting, fleshy humps on second and third abdominal segments; raised angulate eighth abdominal segment; head with front flattened, slightly lobed to either side, festooned with black spots, and pale line running from antenna to vertex; oblique lines to either side of midline on midabdominal segments (description from Caterpillars of Eastern Forests)

southern Canada and northern US east of the Rockies (Alberta to northeastern California, east to North Carolina, north to Nova Scotia)

deciduous and mixed woods and shrublands

adults fly in June and July

larvae from July to September

larvae feed on leaves of poplar and willow

one generation per year, with a partial second generation in some areas

a very similar (con-specific?) species (N. pacifica) replaces this one west of the Rockies

live adult images plus description and host plants (Lynn Scott, Ontario)

pinned adult image plus common name reference, description, biology, distribution, etc. (G.G. Anweiler, U. of Alberta)

pinned adult image (CBIF)

pinned adult image and US distribution map (USGS)

pinned adult image (A.W. Thomas, Canadian Forest Service)

pinned adult image (Alexandre Fournier, Insects of Quebec)

live larva image plus description, food plants, and season (Bob Wilson, USGS)