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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) » Caradrinini » Athetiina » Proxenus

Genus Proxenus

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Internet References

Noctuidae: Proxenus mendosa - Proxenus mendosa

Noctuidae, Miranda Moth, a larva - Proxenus miranda

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 Caradrinini

Subtribe Athetiina

Genus Proxenus

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Athetis

Proxenus was designated a junior synonym of Athetis by Robert Poole in 1989 (Butterflies and Moths of the World) but it appears that other sources disagree with Poole's action, as a number of web sites continue to treat Proxenus as a valid genus, including the All-Leps site, the taxonomic reference that BugGuide follows.

Numbers

3 species in North America listed at All-Leps

3 species in Canada (CBIF)

Size

wingspan 23-27 mm (in P. miranda)

Identification

Adult: forewing variably dark gray or blackish to light brown (depending on species); antemedial (AM) and postmedial (PM) lines usually absent, sometimes faint and inconspicuous in P. miranda; hindwing whitish, shading to gray near outer margin in two species

Range

throughout North America except Florida and the gulf states, Newfoundland, and the arctic

also represented in Eurasia and Australia

Habitat

wooded areas, meadows, gardens, suburban yards; adults are nocturnal and come to light

Season

adults fly from March to October in the south; June to August in the north (Alberta)

Food

larvae of P. miranda feed on the leaves of cantaloupe, dandelion, sugar beet, strawberry, sweet potato, and have also been found under matted alfalfa

Life Cycle

two generations per year; one generation (and sometimes a partial second generation) in the north

Internet References

pinned adult images of all 3 species in North America (CBIF)

distribution in Canada list of provinces for each species (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)

list of species plus classification, type localities, references (Markku Savela, FUNET)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 20 June, 2005 - 1:30am
Last updated 19 September, 2006 - 3:44pm

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