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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Owlet Moths (Noctuidae) » Cutworm or Dart Moths (Noctuinae) » Apameini » Amphipoea » Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456 (Amphipoea interoceanica)

Species Amphipoea interoceanica - Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Amphipoea interoceanica - male Amphipoea interoceanica - Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456 - Amphipoea interoceanica - male Amphipoea interoceanica - Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456 - Amphipoea interoceanica - male Amphipoea interoceanica - Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456 - Amphipoea interoceanica - male Amphipoea interoceanica - Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456 - Amphipoea interoceanica - male Amphipoea interoceanica - Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456 - Amphipoea interoceanica - male Amphipoea interoceanica Amphipoea interoceanica
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
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 Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)
Tribe Apameini
Genus Amphipoea
Species interoceanica (Interoceanic Ear Moth - Hodges#9456)
Hodges Number
9456
Other Common Names
Strawberry Cutworm (larva)
Strawberry Cutworm Moth (adult)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
formerly placed in subfamily Amphipyrinae (which currently contains a single genus: Amphipyra)
Explanation of Names
Amphipoea interoceanica (Smith, 1899)
Hydroecia interoceanica Smith, 1899
Size
wingspan: 28-31 mm (Smith, 1899)
slightly smaller than American Ear Moth, which has a wingspan of 28-36 mm
Identification
virtually identical to American Ear Moth (A. americana) but slightly smaller with a stouter body, and the white filling in the reniform spot is limited to the distal two-thirds

In A. interoceanica, the digitus on the valvae does not extend beyond the tip of the valvae, as it does in A. americana.
Range
mostly inland or "between the oceans" - in Canada from QC west to AB but not coastal provinces of NB or BC (occurs in Nova Scotia however), and adjacent parts of United States
Habitat
commercial strawberry farms; fields, meadows
Season
adults fly in July and August
Food
larvae feed on leaves, stems, and fruit stalks of strawberry (Fragaria spp.) plus grasses and sedges
Life Cycle
eggs are laid in July on dead strawberry leaves; overwinters as an egg, which hatches in spring; larvae feed from May to July; one generation per year
See Also
American Ear Moth (Amphipoea americana) is very similar but slightly larger with a more slender body, and usually an orange-filled reniform spot (compare images of both species)
Print References
Smith, J.B. 1899. Contributions toward a monograph of the Noctuidae of boreal North America. Revision of the genus Hydroecia Gn. Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 26: 17; pl. 1, fg. 4 (male genitalia).
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (MPG) (1)
The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (2)
E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum (3)
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)(4)
Works Cited
1.North American Moth Photographers Group
2.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
3.University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum
4.Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 31 January, 2005 - 12:57am
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, JoAnneRusso, Steve Morris
Last updated 12 February, 2022 - 12:43pm

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