Species Cucullia asteroides - Goldenrod Hooded Owlet - Hodges#10200

10200

The Asteroid

Cucullia asteroides Guenée, 1852

Phylogenetic sequence # 931504 (1)

Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010) listed 36 species of the genus Cucullia in America north of Mexico. (1)

Adult forewing length about 23 mm.

Larvae to 45mm

Genitalia:

Caterpillar: "Usually bright green or brown with yellow, black and white striping, but exceedingly variable...mid-dorsal stripe yellow, often narrowly edged with white, occasionally flanked by variously developed black subdorsal stripe. If subdorsal is absent, then five or six black pinstripes above level of spiracles." - Wagner p. 388(2) Base color may also be tan, or purple and brown, especially in later instars.

southern Canada and United States east of the Rockies

Poole reports adults fly from May to September. (3)

The larvae feed primarily on the flowers of goldenrod (Solidago spp.) and aster (Aster spp.)

Overwinters in the pupal stage in a tough underground cocoon.

life cycle (MJ Hatfield)

Cucullia postera, C.omissa, C. florea are likely to have similar caterpillars, according to Wagner.

Poole, R.W. 1995. The Moths of north America Fascicle 26.1. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. p. 34; pl. 1.1-2.(4)

Moth Photographers Group (5)

Nearctica.com (3)

iNaturalist

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (6)