Species Schizura ipomaeae - Morning-glory Prominent - Hodges#8005

8005

False Unicorn Caterpillar (larva); Checkered-fringe Prominent

Schizura ipomaeae Doubleday, 1841

Phylogenetic sequence # 930098

IPOMAEAE: from the genus name (Ipomoea) of morning-glory, allegedly one of the larval foodplants, and the origin of the common name Morning-glory Prominent

Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010) listed eight species of the genus Schizura in America north of Mexico. (1)

wingspan 36-47 mm

Adult: forewing highly variable - usually grayish-brown with inconspicuous pattern of black streaks and spots; lines broken, obscure; reniform spot blackish, ringed with ground color; black-shaded form "cinereofrons" predominant in some localities; form "telifer" has long black streaks in basal and subterminal areas; hindwing dirty white in male, dark gray in female

[adapted from description by Charles Covell]

Larva: fifth abdominal segment distinctly humped; 5-banded stripe on head; body light brown with contrasting green second and third thoracic segments

all of United States and across southern Canada. (2)

deciduous forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light

adults fly from April to September in the south; June to August in the north

larvae from May to October

larvae feed on leaves of beech, birch, elm, maple, oak, rose, and other woody plants; probably not morning-glory (3)

one generation per year in the north

Schizura unicornis has a very similar caterpillar. The head stripes and humped A5 (fifth abdominal segment) of this species are listed as distinctive in Wagner (3) p. 314. S. unicornis also has a white V-shape over A6 and A7 which S. ipomoeae lacks.

Powell, J.A., and P.A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California. pl. 42, fig. 20; p. 251.(4)

Wagner (3)

Moth Photographers Group (5)

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (6)

live larva image plus description, foodplants, seasonality, life cycle (David Wagner and Valerie Giles, Caterpillars of Eastern Forests, USGS)

distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)