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Species Agrochola purpurea - Hodges#9954

Representative Images

Agrochola purpurea Agrochola purpurea For Oregon..For Oct.. - Agrochola purpurea Noctuidae: Agrochola purpurea - Agrochola purpurea Agrochola purpurea - female Agrochola purpurea - female Agrochola purpurea Owlet Moth - Agrochola purpurea
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)
Tribe Xylenini
Subtribe Xylenina
Genus Agrochola
Species purpurea (Agrochola purpurea - Hodges#9954)

Hodges Number

9954

Size

wingspan about 36 mm

Identification

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

Range

British Columbia to California, east to Utah

Habitat

dry western forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light

Season

adults fly in fall and early winter

Food

larvae feed on leaves of lupine (Lupinus spp.)

See Also

Anathix agressa forewing has more prominent gray markings, and hindwing is a blotchy mix of gray and pale yellow
Sunira species are superficially similar but have continuous subterminal line on forewing, and varying amounts of yellow on hindwing

Internet References

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 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)