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Species Acronicta retardata - Retarded Dagger Moth - Hodges#9251

Representative Images

CaterpillarTBID02092014FW - Acronicta retardata Retarded Dagger Moth - Acronicta retardata Acronicta - Acronicta retardata Retarded Dagger Moth Caterpillar - Acronicta retardata Caterpillar found in grass below a maple tree. - Acronicta retardata New Hope Bottomland caterpillar on Acer floridana 2022 3.1 - Acronicta retardata Acronicta retardata Acronicta retardata
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 Acronictinae
Genus Acronicta (Dagger Moths)
Species retardata (Retarded Dagger Moth - Hodges#9251)

Hodges Number

9251

Size

wingspan 25-32 mm

Identification

Adult: forewing pale gray; AM line distinctly double, often with a black spot midway on its outer side; median area usually whitish
hindwing whitish with heavy gray shading and dark discal spot
[adapted from description by Charles Covell]

Larva: head and body with many black and white bands of about equal width; 4 red dorsal tubercles and 2 red lateral tubercles on each abdominal segment (and only 2 red dorsal tubercles on each thoracic segment); long white lateral filaments on each segment
[adapted from description by Pedro Barbosa]

Range

Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas, north to Manitoba

Habitat

deciduous woods containing food plants; adults may be attracted to light

Season

adults fly from April to August

Food

Larvae feed on leaves of Maple (Acer species), Buckeye (Aesculus species), and perhaps additional members of the Sapindaceae family.

Life Cycle

multiple generations per year

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (MPG)
Barcode of Life (BOLD)
Contributed by john and jane balaban on 14 August, 2005 - 11:31am
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Ethan Kistler, George Smiley, Steve Morris
Last updated 1 May, 2023 - 7:37pm

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