Species Tarache tetragona - Four-spotted Bird Dropping Moth - Hodges#9143

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

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 Acontiinae (Bird Dropping Moths)

Tribe Acontiini

Genus Tarache

Species tetragona (Four-spotted Bird Dropping Moth - Hodges#9143)

Hodges Number

9143

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Tarache tetragona (Walker, [1858])

Acontia tetragona Walker, [1858]

Tarache gonoides McDunnough, 1943

* phylogenetic sequence #931354

Explanation of Names

tetra (G) = a pheasant + gona (G) = seed; angle or corner (1)

NOTE: Since tetra can also mean "four" in Greek, it's speculative whether Walker meant this moth to be "four-spotted (angle or corner) or "pheasant-like." (Robert Lord Zimlich)

Habitat

Fields, agricultural lands, waste lots, and other open habitats (Wagner et. al., 2009)

Food

Larval hosts: Malvastrum and perhaps other members of mallow family (Wagner et. al., 2009)

Life Cycle

Pupae overwinter in ovoid, sandy cocoons (Wagner et. al., 2009)

Print References

Lafontaine, J. D. & B. C. Schmidt 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America North of Mexico. p.48

Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. B. Sullivan, R. C. Reardon 2009. (Manuscript) Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). p.321 (2.5Mb PDF Download)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group - species account with photos of pinned adults.

BOLD - Barcode of Life Data Systems - species account with photographs of pinned adults and DNA sequence

Nearctica.com - species page

Works Cited

1.	Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.

Contributed by Jim McClarin on 21 October, 2006 - 5:14pm
Additional contributions by Maury Heiman, Ethan Kistler, Robert Lord Zimlich, Chris Grinter, Randy Hardy
Last updated 5 June, 2013 - 4:27pm

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