Species Apamea cogitata - Thoughtful Apamea - Hodges#9367.1

9367.1

The above common name proposal is based on the meaning of the species epithet, and provides a similarly-named "partner" for the Doubtful Apamea (Apamea dubitans), formerly considered conspecific with this one. There is already a moth named The Thinker (Lacinipolia meditata).

Apamea cogitata (Smith, 1891)

Xylophasia cogitata Smith, 1891

Agroperina cogitata Hampson, 1908

COGITATA: from the Latin "cogitare" (to think)

forewing length: 16-21 mm (1)

forewing reddish-brown, darker in subterminal area; reniform spot pale yellow or whitish with dark line running through it; orbicular spot oval, diagonal, with faint whitish outline; subterminal line thin, pale, jagged, indistinct; series of whitish dots along costa and outer margin

hindwing grayish, darker toward margins, with blackish veins and terminal line; fringe brownish-yellow

In the West, cogitata tends toward a dark gray brown without any reddish hue and are easily mistaken for Apamea dubitans which is not found in the West except for a disjunct population in northern Colorado. (1)

Newfoundland to British Columbia and Northwest Territories, plus adjacent parts of United States, south in the west to Colorado, Utah and California (1)

adults fly from mid-June to late September with most records between mid-July and mid-August (1)

larvae may feed on grasses? (McGill U.)

one generation per year

Apamea dubitans is similar but its forewing is dark chocolate brown usually with no hint of red

Helotropha reniformis has a uniformly dark form that is very similar to Apamea cogitata. According to Pacific Northwest Moths, Apamea cogitata is much redder than Heloptropha reniformis and lacks a dark gray terminal area. (2)

Hampson, G.F. 1908. Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalænæ in the British museum. 7: 399

Smith, J.B. 1891. Contributions toward a monograph of the Noctuidae of temperate North America. Revision of the species of Hadena referable to Xylophasia and Luperina. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 13(839):421

Smith, J.B. 1810. Notes on North American species of Agroperina Hampson. Journal of the New York Entomological Society. 18(3): 139

Moth Photographers Group (3)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (4)

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)(5)

Pacific Northwest Moths (2)