Other Common Names
Pale-sided Cutworm (larva)
Rugged Cutworm (larva)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Agrotis malefida Guenée, 1852
Agrotis inspinosa Guenée, 1852
Agrotis consueta Walker, [1857]
Agrotis submuscosa Herrich-Schäffer, 1868
Noctua robusta Blanchard, 1852
* phylogenetic sequence #933526
Size
Forewing length 18-23 mm (Powell & Opler, 2009).
(1)Identification
Adult - forewing brownish in male, gray to blackish in female; reniform spot large, dark; claviform spot short, wide, solid black; orbicular spot outlined in black, and keyhole-shaped (broadly oval basally, with elongate "tail" distally, often with black center in basal portion); PM line scalloped; outer margin with blackish wedge extending into subterminal area about one-third distance from costa. Hindwing gleaming white with thin brown terminal line and brown-lined veins.
Larvae - dark gray above and below with two broad whitish or pale yellowish stripes along side, separated by dark line; two dark dots in middle of pale stripes on each segment.
Range
Southern half of United States (stray in the northeast to New York) through Mexico and Central and South America to Argentina and Chile.
(2),
(3)Habitat
Fields, gardens, croplands.
Season
Adults fly from April to October.
Food
Larvae feed on many wild and cultivated plants, including clover, corn, pea, tomato.
Remarks
Rascal Dart is the name given to the adult in Covell's Guide to Moths of Eastern North America.
(4)See Also
In
A. obliqua and
venerabilis, the orbicular spot is elongate but not keyhole-shaped, and the claviform spot is joined to a basal dash that extends to the base of the forewing (see
comparison images)
Agrotis apicalis is very similar but apparently occurs only in
Florida and Cuba
Print References
Boisduval, J. A. & A. Guenée 1852. Hist. nat. Ins., Spec. gén. Lépid. 5, Noctuélites 1):
267
Covell Jr., C. V. 1984. A field guide to the moths of eastern North America. P.90, pl.19(7)
Lafontaine, J. D. 2004. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 27.1: p.248; pl.L.33-35
Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. pl.58.4m, p.313
Internet References
pinned adult image plus synonym history, distribution, male genitalia (Pierre Zagatti, Catalogue of Lepidoptera of the French Antilles)
pinned adult image (Bruce Walsh, Moths of Southeastern Arizona)
pinned adult image and common name reference [Pale-sided Cutworm; larva] (Matthew Barnes, Moths of Jamaica)
common name reference [Rugged Cutworm; larva] (Jorge Raul Aragon, Natural enemies of alfalfa cutworms in eastern Cordoba, Argentina)
presence in New York; list (Olive Natural Heritage Society, New York)
