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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) » Noctuini » Agrotina » Euxoa » Subgenus Chorizagrotis (Euxoa Subgenus Chorizagrotis) » Army Cutworm Moth - Hodges#10731 (Euxoa auxiliaris)

Species Euxoa auxiliaris - Army Cutworm Moth - Hodges#10731

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Army Cutworm Moth - Euxoa auxiliaris Unknown Moth - Euxoa auxiliaris Arizona Moth - Euxoa auxiliaris Euxoa auxiliaris Arizona Moth - Euxoa auxiliaris Moth - Euxoa auxiliaris Noctuidae - Euxoa auxiliaris Euxoa auxiliaris
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 Noctuini
Subtribe Agrotina
Genus Euxoa
No Taxon (Subgenus Chorizagrotis)
Species auxiliaris (Army Cutworm Moth - Hodges#10731)
Hodges Number
10731
Other Common Names
Miller Moth
Army Cutworm (larva)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Euxoa auxiliaris (Grote, 1873)
Agrotis auxiliaris Grote, 1873
Agrotis introferens Grote, 1875
Agrotis agrestis Grote, 1877
Phyloygenetic sequence # 933309
Size
Forewing length 17-22 mm (most specimens 19-20 mm) (1)
Identification
Adults - three forms described in Powell & Opler, 2009.

Specimens identified by DNA analysis:
Range
Throughout the west, from southern Northwest Territories south to Mexico, east to Michigan, Missouri and Texas (Powell & Opler, 2009).(2)
Habitat
Seasonal migrant. In early summer it flies to higher elevations where in some areas it is commonly eaten by grizzly bears. Returns to lower elevations in the fall, where the females oviposit.
Food
Larvae feed on plants in 16 families but prefer cereal grasses. Adults take nectar (Powell & Opler, 2009).(2)
Remarks
Adults are very capable fliers. Specimens tethered in a flight machine flew upward of 50 miles, one flying for 23 hours and 133 miles! (Koerwitz & Pruess 1964).
See Also
Euxoa olivia can look very similar to certain forms of auxiliaris but it is considerably smaller at 13-17 mm forewings.
Euxoa inconcinna is also very similar to a certain form of auxiliaris but is generally smaller at 14-20 mm forewings. (1)

Euxoa ochrogaster

Euxoa perexcellens
Print References
Eisner, T. & M. Eisner 1992. Euxoa auxiliaris: A moth that sprays. Psyche 99: 3-14
Grote, A.R. 1873. A study of North American Noctuidae. Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci. 1: 96
Lafontaine, J.D., 1987. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 27.2. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. p. 30; pl. 1.6-8.(1)
Powell, J.A., and P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. plate 57, figs. 8, 10; p. 310.(2)
Internet References
Pcific Northwest Moths(3)
Moth Photographers Group (4)
E.H. Strickland Museum
Moths of North Dakota
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (5)
www.colostate.edu - Images and information.
Works Cited
1.The Moths of America North of Mexico, Noctuoidea, Noctuidae (Part), Noctuinae (Part-Euxoa), Fascicle 27.2
J. Donald LaFontane. 1987. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation.
2.Moths of Western North America
Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.
3.Pacific Northwest Moths
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
5.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Will Chatfield-Taylor on 2 January, 2008 - 1:47am
Additional contributions by Lynette Elliott, Maury Heiman, Robert Lord Zimlich, Randy Hardy, Robert H. Biagi, Steve Morris
Last updated 6 January, 2024 - 11:12pm

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