Punctuated Owlet

Phalaenostola eumelusalis

The punctuated owlet is a moth of the family Erebidae.

Adult: forewing brown, crossed by dark brown antemedian (AM), postmedian (PM), and subterminal (ST) lines; AM line composed of three scallops; PM and ST lines thin, irregular, zigzagged; distance between AM and PM lines at least 2x greater than distance between PM and ST lines (a distinguishing feature); broad dark band in median area; reniform spot a thin black arc; small dark blotch often present near apex; hindwing slightly paler than forewing, and crossed by two dark bands.
Phalaenostola eumelusalis Dark Phalaenostola,Erebidae,Geotagged,Herminiinae,Lepidoptera,Litter Moths,Noctuoidea,Owlet Moths,Phalaenostola eumelusalis,Punctuated Owlet,Summer,United States,insect,moth,moth week 2019

Appearance

The wingspan is about 25 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August. There seem to be two generations per year.
Black-banded Owlet - Phalaenostola eumelusalis Total length: ~15 mm. Brown forewings with a wide, dusky median band. Wavy subterminal line is accented with two blackish bulges before merging with a short apical dash. Upturned labial palps. Habitat: Attracted to a light at night in a rural area. Black-banded owlet,Geotagged,Phalaenostola eumelusalis,Summer,United States,litter moth,moth,owlet

Naming

Phalaenostola eumelusalis (Walker, 1859)
Herminia eumelusalis Walker, 1859

Distribution

It is found from New Brunswick, North Dakota and South Dakota to Maine, south to Georgia and Iowa. In the north it is also found in Saskatchewan.

Behavior

Adults fly from late May to August

Food

Larvae have been reared on dead grass.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/9783
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyErebidae
GenusPhalaenostola
SpeciesP. eumelusalis
Photographed in
United States of America