Species americana (Grapeleaf Skeletonizer - Hodges#4624)
Hodges Number
4624
Size
Winspan 18-28 mm, length 8-12 mm.
Identification
Adult: wings narrow, completely black, held spread out and away from body at rest; collar orange/red, complete (not broken, as in Clemen's False Skeletonizer); tip of abdomen has prominent tufts of scales; antennae pectinate in both sexes, and plumose in male
Larva: head dark; body yellow with complete black band across each abdominal segment
Range
Eastern and central North America
Habitat
Found on flowers in fields, etc. Adults are diurnal and nocturnal, and come to light.
Season
adults fly April-October in much of range; March-October in Florida
larvae present from April/May to November in Florida
Food
Larvae feed on grape foliage, and can be pests; may also feed on Redbud, Virginia Creeper.
Adults take nectar.
Life Cycle
two or possibly three generations per year in Florida
See Also
Genus Pyromorpha (in same family) has yellow or orange in wings, lacking in Harrisina
Other black and orange-winged moths from other families, such as Arctiidae: Lycomorpha pholus; Virginia Ctenucha (Ctenucha virginica); Yellow-collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) have more triangular-shaped wings, and lack scale tufts on the abdomen.
Clemens' False Skeletonizer (Acoloithus falsarius) is much smaller, has incomplete orange/red collar, and lacks abdominal scale tufts.
Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer (Harrisina brillians) is very similar but ranges from California to Texas, south to Mexico.
Univ. Florida--fact sheet, including common name reference and live images of all life stages (F.W. Mead, Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Susan Webb, U. of Florida)
