Cottonwood Dagger Moth

Appearance

Forewing whitish; lines faint except for 3 black blotches representing tips of lines at costa; black basal dash present; usually no orbicular spot, hindwing white. The wingspan is 40–50 mm.

Larvae are covered in long yellow hairs although white and brown forms exist. Thre is a row of five (rarely more) black tufts of hair down the back.

Naming

Acronicta lepusculina Guenée, 1852
Apatela felina Grote
Acronycta populi Riley
Acronycta frigida Smith
Acronycta cinderella Smith
Acronycta pacifica Smith
Acronycta cretata Smith
Acronycta insita var canadensis Smith & Dyar
Acronycta similana Smith
Acronycta tonitra Smith
Acronycta cyanescens Hampson
Acronycta chionochroa Hampson
Acronycta amicora Smith
Acronycta metra Smith
Acronycta turpis Smith
Acronycta transversta Smith
Acronita transversta Smith

Species epithet from Latin lepusculus- "little hare". The original description compares it to Acronicta leporina, whose name is itself derived from lepus- "hare"

First described in 1852 by Achille Guénée as Acronycta lepusculina

Distribution

British Columbia to Nova Scotia, south to Florida, west to California (i.e. all of US and coast-to-coast in southern Canada).

Status

Uncommon but very widely distributed.

Behavior

Adults fly from April to September in the south (2 broods), and May to August in the north (1 brood).

Habitat

Forested riverbanks, treed floodplains

Reproduction

One generation per year in the north, two in the south; overwinters as a pupa.

Food

Larvae feed on leaves of Populus species (Trembling Aspen, Balsam Poplar, Cottonwood), plus birch and willow.