Species Anagrapha falcifera - Celery Looper - Hodges#8924

8924

Anagrapha falcifera (Kirby, 1837)

Plusia falcifera Kirby, 1837

Autographa falcifera

Syngrapha falcifera

Autographa simplicima Ottolengui, 1902

Phylogenetic sequence # 931234

Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010) listed Anagrapha falcifera as the only species in America north of Mexico. (1)

Pogue (2005) listed the forewing length of 14-18 mm. (2)

Covell (1984) listed the wingspan of 32-34 mm. (3)

Adults - forewing smooth gray to grayish-brown in basal, costal, and terminal areas; median area with large rectangular dark brown patch along inner margin; silvery-white AM line curves outward and merges with slender stigma, shaped liked a "long-tailed goldfish"; reddish spot usually visible just beyond stigma; upper portion of subterminal line near costa has dark shading, giving the appearance of a dark diagonal apical dash; antennae simple; sexes alike. Hindwing yellowish with grayish-brown basal and terminal shading.

Larvae - body pale green, tapering from back to front; white lateral line contains row of white spiracles edged in black; thoracic legs and head green; only two pairs of mid-abdominal prolegs (typical of Plusiinae larva).

Eichlin & Cunningham (1978) reported the range to include Nova Scotia to British Columbia and all of the United States. (4)

Open areas, including roadsides, meadows, pastures, gardens, cropland, bogs, etc.

Adults fly from March to November in the south; May to September in the north. Larvae may be present spring through fall.

Larvae feed on large variety of low plants: beet, blueberry, cabbage, carrot, celery, clover, corn, lettuce, plantain, Viburnum species. Adults nectar on flowers of various herbaceous plants.

Overwinters as a pupa in the soil; adult emerges in spring when temperatures reach 10 degrees Celsius; two or more overlapping generations per year.

Larva; adult

Adults are active day and night, and are attracted to light.

Autographa pseudogamma (Delicate Silver Y Moth) has dark basal, costal, and subterminal areas, and a more sinuous AM line. It lacks a dark apical dash (compare images of both species).

Autographa gamma, another Eurasian species, listed as "Species to Watch For" in Wyoming and Oregon. As of January 2006 no Internet references could be found to indicate that the Silver Y Moth has been recorded in the wild in North America. See European images of Autographa gamma ( 1, 2, 3 ).

Covell Jr., C.V., 1984. Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. p.158, pl.31, f.7(3)

Eichlin, T.D. & H.B. Cunningham 1978. The Plusiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of America north of Mexico, emphasizing genitalic and larval morphology. USDA Tech. Bulletin 1567: 1-122. (4)

Lafontaine, J.D. & R.W. Poole, 1991. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 25.1. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, p. 124; pl. 2.40-44.(5)

Ottolengui, R. 1902. Plusia and allied genera with descriptions of new species. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 10: 74, pl. 6, f. 6. (6)

Pogue, M. G. 2005. The Plusiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Zootaxa 1032: 1–28. (2)

Powell, J.A., and P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press, p.279, pl.50.8.(7)

Pacific Northwest Moths (8)

Moth Photographers Group (9)

iNaturalist

Moths of North Dakota

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (10)

live adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)

live adult images (Bruce Marlin, Illinois)