Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Capsula oblonga (Grote, 1882)
Nonagria oblonga Grote
(1), 1882
Phylogenetic sequence # 932438
(2) Identification
Adult: forewing yellowish with grayish-brown shading; orbicular and reniform spots outlined with ground color; PM line and terminal line a series of tiny black dots
hindwing colored as forewing but grayish-brown shading darker
[description by Charles Covell]
Larva: whitish or pale brown with small sparse spots but no conspicuous markings; head small, dark brown; mature larvae rarely seen, as they bore inside the stems of aquatic plants below the water line
Grote (1882) original description as Nonagria oblonga is online in the print references.
Range
all of United States and southern Canada.
(3) (4) (5)Habitat
damp or marshy areas where food plants grow; adults are nocturnal and attracted to light
Season
adults fly from June/July to September in the north, with a second brood from November to May in the deep south
Food
larvae initially a leaf miner and later a stem borer below the water line inside stems of cattail (Typha spp.) and bulrush (Scirpus spp.)
Life Cycle
one or two generations per year
Remarks
"The distinctively shaped pupa rests head upward inside the stem, and the moth escapes through a hole in the stem which it carefully planned while it was still a caterpillar and preparing to pupate." [Jeremy Tatum]
See Also
Archanara subflava lacks small terminal dots on forewing; species of
Chortodes and
Spartiniphaga have either darker veins or slightly different wing patterns of several species. May also be confused with several species of
Leucania which have light wings and dark spots (see images of eastern species on
this page)
Print References
Grote, A.R., 1882. the North American species of
Nonagria.
Papilio 2(6):
96.
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler, 2009.
Moths of Western North America. University of California Press, pl. 53, fig. 28; p. 296.
(6)Internet References
live larva, pupa, and adult images plus food plant and other info (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)
pinned adult image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)
distribution in Canada list of provinces (CBIF data, presented by U. of Alberta)
Contributed by
Robin McLeod on 20 January, 2006 - 9:53pm
Additional contributions by
Maury HeimanLast updated 24 August, 2014 - 3:30pm
