Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Acronicta modica (Walker, 1856)
Acronicta haesitata (Grote, 1882)
Identification
Adult: forewing medium gray with AM and PM line usually conspicuously double; basal dash thick but usually not touching small blackish blotch at middle of AM line; hindwing grayish-brown
[description by Charles Covell]
Genitalia:
Larva: greenish-, yellowish-, orangish-, or pinkish-brown with white setae along sides of body; head pinkish-tan, mottled; dorsum of last thoracic and anterior abdominal segments with irregular white blotches and interrupted middorsal stripe; rear segments with yellowish subdorsal splotches; rests with head against side of abdomen in leaf shelter
[description by David Wagner and Valerie Giles]
Several closely-related Acronicta species (albarufa, inclara, increta, modica, ovata) also on oaks with similarly-marked caterpillars
Range
Nova Scotia to South Carolina, west to Texas, north to Ontario
Season
adults fly from April to August or September; peak numbers in June and July
larvae from June to October
Food
larvae feed on leaves of Red Oak and White Oak
Life Cycle
two generations per year in the south; one in the north
See Also
A. increta and
ovata are similar but have more extensive dark shading in basal area of forewing (
compare images of all three species)
