Species Acronicta funeralis - Funerary Dagger - Hodges#9221

9221

Paddle Caterpillar (larva)

FUNERALIS/FUNERARY: probably refers to the traditional black color related to funerals, as much of the larva and part of the adult is black

uncommon

wingspan 32-40 mm

Adult: forewing longitudinally bicolored (light gray on costal two-thirds, black along inner third, with sharp dividing line); broad basal dash has large tooth pointing toward costa; in melanic indidivuals, the light gray is replaced by very dark gray

hindwing white on basal half, shading to gray on distal half, with dark gray veins

Larva: early instars brown with white markings; fourth instar black with middorsal light yellow markings that are triangular to elliptical with transverse black streaks in the center, and a pair of long black hairs with flattened tips that resemble paddles - hence the common name of Paddle Caterpillar

patchy distribution: Manitoba to Nova Scotia, south to Maryland, plus Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and along the west coast from California to BC (apparently missing from much of the midwest and several southern states)

adults fly from May to August

larvae in July and August

larvae feed on leaves of alder, apple, birch, blueberry/huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.), cottonwood, dogwood, elm, hazel, hickory, maple, oak, willow

two or more generations per year in the south; one or two in the north

Adults of A. impressa (and A. mansueta in the west) have a bicolored gray/black forewing but the colors are not sharply-demarcated

Moth Photographers Group (MPG)

Pacific Northwest Moths

Barcode of Life (BOLD)

Moths of North Carolina