Identification
Adult: hindwing yellow with black terminal band; forewing varies from light to dark brown to orangish to grayish, and from almost unmarked to boldly patterned; reniform spot large and either dark or barely visible; small dark patch along costa near apex nearly always present (see links to images in Internet References section below)
Food
Larvae feed on a variety of crops and vegetables, plus grasses (
Moths of North Dakota)
Remarks
Introduced from Europe to Nova Scotia in 1979, this species has since spread north to the Arctic Ocean, west to the Pacific, and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
See Also
In British Columbia and northwestern US, the similar
Lesser Yellow Underwing (
Noctua comes) has a small black arc on the hindwing, lacking in
N. pronuba
Noctua pronuba ..........N. comes
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Hemieuxoa rudens - Hodges #10914
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - species account with photos of larvae, living and pinned adults.
live adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)
dates & locations tracking its spread across North America (Steve Walter, New York)
Michigan State University describes its progress as a pest of field crops
