Species Ctenucha virginica - Virginia Ctenucha - Hodges#8262

8262

Cténuche de Virginie - En français.… Ilze V-G.

VIRGINICA: the type specimen was collected in Nova Scotia and named Ctenucha latreillana by Kirby in 1837, but an earlier specimen named Sphinx virginica by Charpentier in 1830 may have been collected in Virginia (?)

(see FUNET and Butterflies & Moths of the World)

Wingspan 40-50 mm

Larva to 50 mm

Adult: Large, northern (despite the name) wasp moth. Body metallic blue, including some on thorax. Male (?), has incredible antennae. Compare Yellow-collared Scape Moth--Cisseps fulvicollis, which is very similar. Cisseps is smaller, with no blue on thorax. Hindwing (not usually visible) of Ctenucha is black, translucent in Cisseps. Cisseps species is widespread, and its range includes the southeastern United States, where Ctenucha is absent. (Milne (1) states the simiar Brown Ctenucha, C. brunnea, is found in the southeast. This is a typographic error--that species appears to be found in the southwest.)

Hannah Nendick-Mason summarizes identification of these moths thus:

It seems to me the shape of the yellow "collar" is a good distinction. In Ctenucha it is narrower at the nape and then spreads down to the shoulders (excuse ignorance of a better technical term). In Cisseps it goes almost straight across forming a neat line, and in Harrisina the line is blurred.

Larva: body surface black but covered with tufts of cream-colored or black hairs (or a mix of both) that may obscure ground color; white lateral line and white or yellow subdorsal line may be visible or obscured by hair; thoracic legs black, prolegs red or pinkish; head reddish-brown on top and sides, black on front

Labrador and Newfoundland to Virginia, west to Utah, north to British Columbia (has expanded westward greatly since 1950, and now occurs in every Canadian province)

Covell only mentions eastern distribution: Labrador south to Pennsylvania, west to Manitoba, Kansas. (2)

Fields with flowers; day-flying and night-flying; adults are attracted to light

adults fly May-July; two broods

larvae usually seen April to September but may be found any time of year (they overwinter)

Larvae feed on monocots: grasses, sedges, iris.

Adults take nectar at various flowers, such as goldenrod.

two generations per year; overwinters as a larva beneath leaf litter/matted grasses

Life cycle images:

1.eggs 2.newly hatched larvae 3.dark larva 4.light larvae 5.cocoon 6.mating pair, male and female

Life cycle series by Marcie O'Connor

Despite its name, this species is more commonly found in the northern United States and southern Canada than in Virginia, which represents the southern boundary of its range.

The larva's hair color may vary according to season for thermoregulation purposes, from black in the early spring (to absorb solar radiation) to yellowish in summer (to reflect the sun's rays) [article citation, Paul Fields, Agriculture Canada]

Grapeleaf Skeletonizer, Harrisina americana; Yellow-collared Scape Moth, Cisseps fulvicollis

Covell, p. 75, plate 12 #1 (2)

Himmelman, p. 188, plate C-3, compares Ctenucha and Cisseps in life (3)

Milne, p. 792, fig. 544 (1)

Moth Photographers Group (MPG)

Pacific Northwest Moths