Numbers
There are five named species of
Mocis in America north of Mexico.
(1)Identification
Adult: forewing variably yellowish, brown, pale grayish, or violet-brown; AM and PM lines distinct in some species, almost absent in others; hindwing yellowish-brown to grayish, often with noticeable PM line.
Larva: recognized by intersegmental dorsal black spots between A1-A2 and A2-A3 (but concealed in fold when larva is at rest); prolegs lacking on A3 and A4; body yellowish-brown with broad chocolate subdorsal and subventral stripes; wide yellowish-brown lateral area often divided by narrow dark brown stripe running through spiracles from T1 to A8; head pale brown with numerous fine stripes and contrasting white lines. [adapted from description by Wagner et al, who say that larvae cannot be reliably identified to species]
Range
mostly southeastern United States
M. cubana: Florida (and Cuba)
M. disseverans: South Carolina to Florida, west to Arizona
M. latipes: Missouri to North Carolina, south to Florida and Texas; strays northward in fall, occasionally as far as New York and Ontario
M. marcida: North Carolina to Florida, west to Texas, rarely straying northward as far as New York
M. texana: Minnesota through Ohio to Massachusetts, south to Florida and Texas
several other species occur in the neotropics and Australia
Habitat
fields, marshes, grasslands, mesquite scrub, and other open areas; adults are nocturnal and come to light
Season
adults fly from April to November, or all year in the far south
larvae from May onward, or all year in southern Florida and Texas
Food
larvae feed on forage and pasture grasses, as well as corn, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane, and may also feed on beans and turnips
Life Cycle
multiple generations per year; overwinters as a pupa, but larvae are present year-round in the far south
See Also
Mocis caterpillars may be confused with those of Caenurgia, Caenurgina, and Ptichodis
Print References
Meagher, R.L. & Mislevy, P.
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