''Acronicta albarufa'', the barrens dagger moth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Noctuidae. It has a fragmented distribution in North America that includes southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Oklahoma,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. It may also be present in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, mainland New York and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

. It has been suggested that populations in the south-western United States may be a separate species. It is listed as a species of special concern and believed

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

in the US state of

."Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"
State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved January 27, 2018. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e feed on ''

Quercus ilicifolia ''Quercus ilicifolia'', commonly known as bear oak or scrub oak, is a small shrubby oak native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Its range extends in the United States from Maine to North Carolina, with reports of a few popula ...

'', though other oak leaves have been used.

Distribution and occurrence

Barrens dagger moth has a fragmented distribution that includes southern Ontario and Manitoba, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Colorado.Forbes, William T. M. (1954) ''Lepidoptera of New York and neighboring states''. Noctuidae: Part III. Memoir No. 329. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, New York State College of AgricultureNelson, M. W. (2007
Species fact sheet: Barrens dagger moth (''Acronicta albarufa'')
In: Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program. Westborough, MA: Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and WildlifeNew York Natural Heritage Program (2008). New York Natural Heritage Program Conservation Guide
Barrens dagger moth (''Acronicta albarufa'')
In: Animal guides. New York Natural Heritage ProgramPatterson, William A., III; Clarke, Gretel L.; Haggerty, Sarah A.; Sievert, Paul R.; Kelty, Matthew (2005
Wildland fuel management options for the central plains of Martha's Vineyard: impacts on fuel loads, fire behavior, and rare plant and insect species
Final Report RFR# DEM705. In: Managing fuels in Northeastern Barrens. In: Publications – Fuel treatments. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts, Department of Natural Resources Conservation It may be extirpated from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, mainland New York, and New Mexico. It has been suggested that populations in the southwestern United States may be a separate species. No maps of barrens dagger moth distribution were available as of 2008. Barrens dagger moths generally occur in oak (''Quercus'' spp.) or pine (''Pinus'' spp.) barren communities. They are associated with pitch pine–bear oak (''P. rigida''–''Q. ilicifolia'') forest and oak scrub communities in New England and southeastern New York. On Martha's Vineyard, they may be associated with frost-bottom communities (Goldstein 1994, cited in ). They have been observed in black oak–post oak (''Q. velutina''–''Q. stellata'') woodland in New Jersey and occur in an area of the Atlantic City International Airport that has been mowed every 1 to 2 years since the 1940s. Barrens dagger moths occupy oak savannahs and oak-hickory (''Carya'' spp.) forests in the western and southern portions of their range

Life history

Barrens dagger moths are nocturnal and are typically just over an inch (3.0–3.5 cm) long. The period in which adults emerge from cocoons extends over 2 months. Adult barrens dagger moths are typically active from June to August but have been documented from late May to September in New Jersey and Missouri . Dagger moth species that occupy pine barrens can be found 1 to 2 miles (2–3 km) from suitable habitat, suggesting considerable dispersal potential . Adults generally produce one brood. However, in New Jersey and Missouri, eggs laid in mid-June may result in a partial second brood . Eggs are laid in July or August and typically take about 6 days to hatch. Larvae are present for 4 to 5 weeks in late June to September or October. If second-brood larvae occur, it may take 8 to 10 weeks for these individuals to begin pupation . Pupae are present in fall, winter, and spring. Barrens dagger moth may pupate in a flimsy cocoon in soil, although the precise location(s) of pupae is uncertain. Pupae do not seem to overwinter more than once.

Preferred habitat

Barrens dagger moth habitat is often described as sandy, xeric, and open oak-dominated communities. Rare moths that occur in pitch pine-bear oak communities, including barrens dagger moth, were associated with early successional habitat patches in southeastern Massachusetts. Barrens dagger moths have not been documented in most potential habitat, despite being relatively easy to detect (see Sampling) . More detailed studies on barrens dagger moth habitat requirements are needed. Landscape-scale characteristics may have greater influence on barren dagger moth habitat quality than patch- or plot-level characteristics. Patches of remnant habitat occupied by barrens dagger moths are typically larger than 2,000 acres (1,000 ha). In models based on surveys of rare moths in a pitch pine-bear oak community in southeastern Massachusetts, barrens dagger moth was positively associated with landscapes with a high percentage of open-canopy oak scrub and negatively associated (P=0.03) with mixed hardwood-conifer forest without pitch pine at the 1,120-acre (450 ha) scale. At a smaller scale (17 acres (7 ha)), barrens dagger moth was negatively associated (P=0.02) with the dispersion and interspersion of cover types. Connectivity of habitat did not appear important in this study area, but connectivity was generally low.

Food habits

Bear oak, and possibly other oaks, are the host plants for barrens dagger moth larvae. According to a fact sheet published by the New York Natural Heritage Program, larvae feed on bur oak (''Q. macrocarpa''), post oak, chestnut oak (''Q. prinus''), and probably black oak, and adults likely eat honeydew from sucking insects and tree sap. According to the NatureServe review, larvae have been observed on post oak and dwarf chinkapin oak (''Q. prinoides''). Barrens dagger moths were successfully raised on black oak in captivity, but they rejected blackjack oak (''Q. marilandica''). Bur oak is the only oak within the Manitoba range of barrens dagger moth.

Threats

Threats to the persistence of barrens dagger moths include habitat loss, fire suppression, extensive fires, high levels of white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus'') browsing, introduced species, insecticides, off-road vehicles, and light pollution. Introduced species that may negatively impact barrens dagger moth are gypsy moths (''Lymantria dispar'') and parasitoids such as compsilura (''Compsilura concinnata''). Spraying for mosquitoes (''Culicidae'') and gypsy moths could negatively impact barrens dagger moth. Since it is not as persistent as other insecticides, use of the insecticide ''Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki'' in spring is recommended if severe defoliation by gypsy moths appears imminent. White-tailed deer damage may have contributed to the extirpation of the barrens dagger moth population at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario.

References

External links

*
"''Acronicta albarufa''"
''Fire Effects Information System''. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4676242 Acronicta Moths of North America Moths described in 1874 Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote