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

Species Acronicta oblinita - Smeared Dagger - Hodges#9272

Pretty Caterpillar - Acronicta oblinita Noctuidae - Acronicta oblinita Smeared Dagger - Acronicta oblinita Caterpillar - Acronicta oblinita White-spined caterpillar, black with yellow spots - Acronicta oblinita Acronicta oblinita Weymouth Woods caterpillar Acronicta oblinita maybe on Sparganium americanum 2023 6 - Acronicta oblinita Noctuoidea - Acronicta oblinita
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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 Acronictinae
Genus Acronicta (Dagger Moths)
Species oblinita (Smeared Dagger - Hodges#9272)
Hodges Number
9272
Other Common Names
Smartweed Caterpillar
Acronicte souillée - En français… Ilze V-G.
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Acronicta oblinita (J.E. Smith, 1797)
Synonym Acronicta arioch Strecker, 1898 [9271].
Phylogenetic sequence # 931485
Size
Wingspan 36-54 mm.
Identification
Caterpillar: Dark with dorsal warts bearing tufts. Yellow, V-shaped blotches between the spiracles are distinctive.
Range
Eastern North America. Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and south to Florida and Texas.
Habitat
Deciduous forests and adjacent areas with host plants
Season
Adults fly May to July and again later in southern areas.
Caterpillar: May to October
Food
A variety of forbs, shrubs, and trees.
Life Cycle
One or two generations per year, more in southern North America.
Remarks
Caution, larva may "sting" if handled.
Print References
Wagner, D.L., Giles, V., Reardon, R.C., & M.L. McManus, 1998. Caterpillars of Eastern Forests. U.S. Dept of Agriculture, p. 30. (1)
Covell, C.V., 1984. Field Guide to Eastern Moths. Houghton Mifflin Company, p. 88, plate 1 #4 (caterpillar), plate 13, #18 (adult). (2)
Wagner, D.L., 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press, p. 332. (3)
Works Cited
1.Caterpillars of Eastern Forests
David L. Wagner, Valerie Giles, Richard C. Reardon, Michael L. McManus. 1998. U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team.
2.Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths
Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.
3.Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner. 2005. Princeton University Press.
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
5.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems