Species Acronicta thoracica - Hodges#9230

9230

Acronicta thoracica (Grote, 1880)

Apatela thoracica Grote, 1880

Phylogenetic sequence # 931446 (1)

Acronicta has about 73 species in America north of Mexico.(1)

Forewing length averages ~19 mm (2)

One of two western Acronicta with goldish brown middorsal thoracic tuft. Forewing light gray with dark transverse markings; AM line indistinct and usually absent below basal dash; medial line is black diffuse bar from slanting from costa and separating reniform and orbicular stigma; PM line is sagittate, faintly paler than ground color with fine black distal border; black basal, subtornal and subapical dashes are long and thin; orbicular spot is oblong, faintly outlined in black and filled with pale shading; reniform is indistinct except for brown shading and basal side black edged in black; black interveinal dashes of fringe rather prominent and often extending into ST area. Hindwing is dirty white with dark fuscous veins and diffuse fuscous shade to terminal line and medial line that is more pronounced in females.

Western Texas to Arizona and north to Colorado, Utah and southern Wyoming. (2)

mid-elevation montane woodlands; often from riparian and canyon habitats (2)

June to September, rarely May (2)

Acronicta strigulata ranges further north and west, but overlaps most of the range of thoracica in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas. Forewing of strigulata is generally darker with spots and lines less prominent or missing; hindwing is mostly white.

No. Am. Ent. 1 (11) 94 [Randy Hardy]

Moth Photographers Group

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)

Moths of Southeastern Arizona