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Species Mythimna unipuncta - Armyworm Moth - Hodges#10438

Moth again 202 - Mythimna unipuncta Armyworm - Mythimna unipuncta Worn moth - Mythimna unipuncta Armyworm - Mythimna unipuncta Caterpillar - Mythimna unipuncta unknown moth - Mythimna unipuncta Moth to porch light  - Mythimna unipuncta 9084066 moth - Mythimna unipuncta
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 unipuncta (Armyworm Moth - Hodges#10438)
Hodges Number
10438
Other Common Names
True Armyworm
The One-spot
The White-speck
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth, 1809)
Noctua unipuncta Haworth, 1809
Synonyms:
Leucania extranea Guenée, 1852
Leucania antica Walker, 1856
Pseudaletia unipuncta quechua Franclemont, 1951 [
Leucania unipuncta tseki
Phylogenetic sequence # 932935
Explanation of Names
the common name comes from the caterpillars, which eat until there is nothing left, then "march" to a new food source.
the scientific name is Latin for "one-pointed", referring to the white speck on the upper surface of each forewing, and is also the reason for Haworth's common name "The White-speck".
Numbers
Four Mythimna species are found in America north of Mexico.(1)
Size
Wingspan 35-47 mm.
Larvae to 50 mm.
Identification
Adult: forewing tan, often tinged with orange and lightly speckled with black; white along veins; PM line a series of small widely-spaced black dots; discal spot white; black-shaded line slants inward from apex; hindwing grayish-brown with tan fringe.
[adapted from description by Charles Covell]
Specimens identified by DNA analysis:

Genitalia:



Larva: head pale brown with green tinge and mottled with dark brown; body smooth, almost hairless, variably yellowish-green to brown to dark gray, with several dark stripes interspersed with pale lines along top and sides.
[adapted from description by Vermont Dept. of Agriculture]
Range
Throughout North America except the arctic (Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut)
also occurs in many other areas of the world.
Habitat
Fields, gardens, meadows, waste places; adults are nocturnal and come to light.
Season
Adults fly year round in the south and from March to November in northern areas.
Food
Larvae are generalist feeders on many species of plants: alfalfa, corn and other grains, grasses, vegetables, many weeds and other wild plants, leaves of fruit trees and ornamentals.
Life Cycle
Two or three generations per year; overwinters as either a pupa or partially-grown larva which pupates in the spring.
Life cycle images:
larva; older larva; older larva; spent pupa in woven nest; adult
Remarks
The two North American species formerly placed in Pseudaletia were included in Mythimna by Lafontaine and Troubridge in 2003 (see CBIF article).
Print References
Boisduval & Guenée, Hist. nat. Ins., Spec. gén. Lépid. 5 (Noct. 1) : 77
Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 53 (2) : 67, f. 13.
Koutsaftikis, 1974; Ann. Musei Goulandris, 2: 96.
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. plate 56, fig. 1; p. 304.(2)
Internet References
live adult images plus description, flight season, foodplants (Lynn Scott, Ontario)
dorsal and ventral views of pinned adults plus foodplants and other info (Dale Clark, Texas)
Taxonomic Notes on North American Noctuidae describing recent classification changes (Donald Lafontaine and James Troubridge, CBIF)
distribution in Canada listing all ten provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)
Lepidoptera Brittanica, p.174    Haworth's original description of the species