Species Euxoa velleripennis - Fleece-winged Dart - Hodges#10803

10803

FLEECE-WINGED: refers to the male's hindwings, which are "white as fleece"

wingspan 35-40 mm

forewing very dark gray with black AM and PM lnes that show little contrast against ground color; reniform, orbicular, and claviform spots outlined in black; center of reniform spot with obscure paler area; orbicular spot very large (touches AM line and almost touches reniform spot)

hindwing white in male; gray in female

at rest, the wings are overlapped and held against the body (not side-by-side to form a triangular shape, as in Apamea impulsa etc. - see comparison notes in See Also section below)

Nova Scotia to Maryland, west to Arizona, north to North Dakota and Manitoba

adults fly from June to October (most common in August and September)

larval host unknown

Apamea impulsa and mixta have small orbicular spots that do not come close to touching the reniform spot. Their flight period ends in August, and their resting posture is also different: the wings are held flat together but do not overlap, giving an overall triangular shape when viewed from above (Jeff Crolla and Don Lafontaine, pers. comm.)

May also be confused with other dark-winged species of Euxoa: E. adumbrata has a pale fringe and pale-rimmed orbicular spot, E. fumalis has a purplish-gray forewing and an orbicular spot consisting of a dark dot, and E. perpolita has blackish-brown forewings with virtually no discernible markings.

Moth Photographers Group (MPG)

Barcode of Life (BOLD)

iNaturalist

pinned adult image, ID information (Moths of North Dakota)