Silver-spotted ghost moth

Sthenopis argenteomaculatus

''Sthenopis argenteomaculatus'', the silver-spotted ghost moth, is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It was described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1841, and is known in North America from Nova Scotia to Virginia and west to Minnesota.
Sthenopis argenteomaculatus (silver-spotted ghost moth) Sadly this moth was dead when I found it. The species is uncommon and larval development can take two years. Geotagged,Hepialidae,Lepidoptera,Silver-spotted ghost moth,Sthenopis argenteomaculatus,Summer,United States,insect,moth,silver-spotted ghost moth

Appearance

The wingspan is about 65–100 mm. The forewings are gray to tan, crossed by irregular dark bands. Adults are on wing from June to August.

Naming

Sthenopis argenteomaculatus Harris, 1841
Hepialus argenteomaculatus Harris, 1841
Sthenopis argentata Packard, 1865
Cossus alni Kellicott, 1885
Hepialus los Strecker, 1893
Sthenopis perdita Dyar, 1893

Distribution

Canada: Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan
United States: Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Food

Food plants for this species include ''Alnus'', ''Betula'', and ''Salix''. They bore in roots of their host plant that are partially submerged in water. The life cycle takes two years.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/large_map.php?hodges=18
https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Sthenopis-argenteomaculatus
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyHepialidae
GenusSthenopis
SpeciesS. argenteomaculatus
Photographed in
United States of America