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Species Mythimna oxygala - Lesser Wainscot - Hodges#10436

1282  Mythimna oxygala - Lesser Wainscot 10436 - Mythimna oxygala Lesser Wainscot Moth - Mythimna oxygala Mythimna oxygala Mythimna ? - Mythimna oxygala Noctuidae: Mythimna oxygala - Mythimna oxygala Mythimna oxygala Mythimna oxygala Mythimna oxygala
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 Leucaniini
Genus Mythimna
Species oxygala (Lesser Wainscot - Hodges#10436)
Hodges Number
10436
Other Common Names
Bog Grass Moth
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Mythimna oxygala (Grote, 1881)
Heliophila oxygala Grote, 1881
Leucania minorata Smith, 1894
Leucania rubripallens Smith, 1902
Leucania oxygala
Aletia oxygala
Identification
Adult: FW uniformly light tan or yellowish, evenly striated with thin brown lines between veins and three black spots arranged in triangular pattern in middle of wing. Whitish streak extending through central median area, diverges at black reniform spot. ST is accentuate with two black dots. HW dirty white with dark streaks along veins in middle of wing (a diagnostic feature)
Larvae: see Godfrey, 1972, p. 87 (1) & Wagner, 2011, p. 508 (2)
Range
much of North America, including Northwest Territories; absent from Alaska, Yukon, Nunavut, and the southeastern states
Habitat
fields, meadows, open grassy areas; adults are nocturnal and attracted to light
Season
adults fly from April to October
Food
larvae feed on grasses, sedges, and chickory
Life Cycle
two or three generations per year
Remarks
The genus Aletia has been dissolved. The two North American species formerly in this genus are now included in Mythimna (see taxonomic notes by Lafontaine and Troubridge).
See Also
More uniformly colored than most Leucania species, and the forewing's triangular pattern of three black spots is a good field mark (compare images of several Leucania species in western Canada and in eastern Canada)
Print References
Grote, A.R. 1881. North American moths. The Canadian entomologist. 13: 14
Internet References
common name reference [Bog Grass Moth] plus foodplants and flight season (Ohio State U.)
common name reference [Lesser Wainscot] (Charles Bird, Moths of the Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, Alberta)