brown day flying moth with furry shoulders

- No description given -

comments (6)

Christine Young

Lion

It's so pretty! Off the top of my head, I would say it looks like Noctuidae. Maybe Euxoa sp. or Lithophane sp.? Possible Euxoa messoria? Or, something totally different ;P. Posted 6 years ago
1. morpheme
  
  Lion
  
  I think you are onto something - perhaps not messoria, which appears to be less likely to be in this habitat (very high mountain ridge - probably around 7,000 ft) but a close relative? I'm not sure without spread wings that I'll be able to tell the difference though... the most likely candidates appear to be
  E. terrenus
  http://pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu/browse/family-noctuidae/subfamily-noctuinae/tribe-noctuini/euxoa/euxoa-terrenus/
  E. septentrionalis
  http://pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu/browse/family-noctuidae/subfamily-noctuinae/tribe-noctuini/euxoa/euxoa-septentrionalis/ Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Nice, those two definitely look like matches...both of them, lol. Did you get any glimpse at all of the hindwings? Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. morpheme
      
      Lion
      
      Unfortunately no.. it was very intent on the flower and not flying at all. Of the two it would seem that septentrionalis is the more likely - the other is less likely, but not impossible at the elevation... This one also appears to be in good shape. Their flight time overlaps, but one article mentions when seen together terrenus is likely to be worn, as it will be at the end of it's lifespan - spring to early fall, whereas septentrionalis will be young - it flies late summer to fall. Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Oh, good observation! I would think that septentrionalis sounds like the best bet then. Posted 6 years ago
3. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  +1 for Euxoa sp. and adding Agrotina sp. as another option. Posted 6 years ago

The Euxoa septentrionalis

''Euxoa septentrionalis'' is a species of cutworm or dart moth in the family Noctuidae. It is found in North America.

The MONA or Hodges number for ''Euxoa septentrionalis'' is 10739.

Info 1 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by morpheme