Species Agrochola purpurea - Hodges#9954

9954

wingspan about 36 mm

Adult: forewing variably light purplish-brown to reddish-orange; lines and markings faint except for dark subapical dash along costa and black lower half of reniform spot; subterminal line a series of black dots; terminal line either continuous and scalloped or broken into dark dots; grayish V-shaped median line descends in middle to reniform spot; AM and PM lines brown, double, wavy; orbicular and reniform spots rimmed with brown; hindwing pale yellowish with gray shading; veins, discal spot, and terminal line darker gray; fringe pale

British Columbia to California, east to Utah

dry western forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light

adults fly in fall and early winter

larvae feed on leaves of lupine (Lupinus spp.)

Anathix agressa forewing has more prominent gray markings, and hindwing is a blotchy mix of gray and pale yellow (compare images of both species at CBIF)

Sunira species are superficially similar but have continuous subterminal line on forewing, and varying amounts of yellow on hindwing (compare images of 4 species at CBIF)

live adult image (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)

pinned adult image plus description, habitat, flight season, foodplant (Jeff Miller, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands, USGS)

pinned adult image (CBIF)

pinned adult image and technical description (California Dept. of Food and Agriculture)

presence in California; list (U. of California at Berkeley)

presence in Utah; list (Joel Johnson, Utah Lepidopterists Society)

distribution in Canada British Columbia only (U. of Alberta, using CBIF data)