Owlet Caterpillars of Eastern North America by Wagner David L. & Schweitzer Dale F. & Sullivan J. Bolling & Reardon Richard C

Author:Wagner, David L. & Schweitzer, Dale F. & Sullivan, J. Bolling & Reardon, Richard C. [Wagner, David L.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781400838295
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2011-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Long-winged Dagger ACRONICTA LONGA

RECOGNITION Bristly with mostly charcoal ground color, attractively decorated with dark, shiny warts over T2–A1, and contrastingly paler warts rearward. Dorsum of abdomen sometimes with subtle frosty mottling. Sides of abdomen smoky orange. Thorax dark above and laterally. Triangle bounded with white (area between adfrontal sutures and frons). Larva to 4 cm. Middle instars (lower inset) spiky with numerous setae of various lengths. Each setal tuft with one to two dark spines and several finer white setae. Longest setae on T1 about half body length. Caterpillars of the Long-winged Dagger superficially resemble those of the Impressive Dagger (A. impressa) complex (previous page).

OCCURRENCE Dry woods, barrens, prairies, and dry fields from southern Canada, south to Florida and Texas. Two generations in Northeast south to Carolinas; flies nearly year-round in southern Florida (Kimball 1965). Locally common, especially southward.

COMMON FOODPLANTS Alder, birch, blackberry, cherry, oaks, poplar, roses, willows, and no doubt many other woody plants.

REMARKS Middle instars preferentially rest on the undersides of leaves. We have occasionally found larvae on low-growing plants such as blackberry and sweet fern. Larvae release a pungent odor, reminiscent of slightly rotten eggs, when molested. The prepupa fashions a cocoon in leaf litter. Larvae that we have seen from the Gulf states are more uniformly orange and lack the dark integument, and may represent distinct taxon (page 259).

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