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Species Acronicta increta - Eclipsed Oak Dagger - Hodges#9249

Representative Images

Eclipsed Oak Dagger - Acronicta increta Noctuidae: Acronicta increta - Acronicta increta Southern Oak Dagger Moth - Acronicta increta Dagger moth - Acronicta increta Raspberry Bud Dagger - Acronicta increta Some sort of dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta sp.)? - Acronicta increta Eclipsed Oak Dagger - Acronicta increta Small Oak Dagger - Acronicta increta
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 increta (Eclipsed Oak Dagger - Hodges#9249)

Hodges Number

9249

Other Common Names

Raspberry Bud Moth
Peach Sword Stripe Night Moth

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Acronicta increta (Morrison, 1874)
Acronycta increta Morrison, 1874
Acronycta inclara Smith, 1900 n. syn. (1)

Explanation of Names

INCRETA: perhaps from the Latin "creta" (chalk) but I don't know the significance of the name in this species

Size

wingspan 28-36 mm

Identification

Adult: forewing basal area with extensive dark shading and straight distal margin where it meets lighter brown medial area; anal angle area with dark shading, obscuring anal dash; two or three dark blotches along outer margin
Larva: See Wagner, 2011(2)
Genitalia:
♀
♂

Range

Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Arkansas, north to Saskatchewan

Season

adults fly from May to September
larvae present from June to October

Food

Chestnut and oak(2)

See Also

Acronicta tristis is very similar but has a more limited range, being more boreal and in the south is restricted to Appalachians. Forewing of A. tristis is cold gray or bluish gray, lacking the greenish-gray or tan-gray cast that is common with A. increta. (1)
Ovate Dagger (A. ovata) forewing has less extensive dark shading in basal and terminal areas, and thinner/sharper anal dash
Unclear Dagger (A. inclara) is very similar but has a more southern distribution (doesn't occur in Canada)
Acronicta cryptica. Melanistic specimens of A. increta cannot be separated with confidence and require DNA.

Print References

Morrison, H.K. 1874. Descriptions of new Noctuidæ. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 17: 131

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (MPG) (3)
The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (4)
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)(5)
iNaturalist
distribution in Canada list of provinces (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)

Works Cited

1.Noctuoidea Noctuidae (Part) Pantheinae, Raphiinae, Balsinae, Acronictinae
Schmidt, B.C. & G.G. Anweiler. 2020. The Moths of North America.
2.Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner. 2011. Princeton University Press.
3.North American Moth Photographers Group
4.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
5.Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
Contributed by Matthew Roth on 16 August, 2005 - 8:54am
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Robin McLeod, Tony-2, JohnMaxwell22, marcie oconnor, JoAnneRusso, Robert H. Biagi, Steve Morris
Last updated 20 November, 2023 - 3:41am

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