''Ctenucha virginica'', the Virginia ctenucha, 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

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. The species was first described by

Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper (2 June 1742 – 27 July 1810) was a German zoologist and naturalist. Born in Wunsiedel in Bavaria, he was professor of zoology at Erlangen university. Life and work Eugen and his brother Friedrich were intro ...

in 1794.

Morphology

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

ranges from . The wing color varies from black to olive brown. The body is a metallic blue green. The head is yellow orange, with feathery antennae. The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

(about 20–25 mm) has multiple tufts of white and yellow hair. It undergoes metamorphosis in May–August.

Range

It is endemic to eastern North America, from Newfoundland south to Virginia. According to the University of Alberta, there has been a westward expansion in the last 60 years as it has reached the Canadian Rockies and is now found in all Canadian provinces.

Food plants

Larvae feed on a variety of host plants including various

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

, irises, and

sedges The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

. Adults drink nectar from flowers including goldenrod.

Images

File:Ctenucha virginica, Ottawa.jpg, Adult,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

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 Ca ...

File:Ctenucha virginica Caterpillar.jpg, Caterpillar File:Virginia Ctenucha - Detail.jpg, Detail File:Ctenucha virginica Bruce.jpg, Museum specimens

Similar species

* ''

Cisseps fulvicollis ''Cisseps fulvicollis'', the yellow-collared scape moth, is a species of the family Erebidae and subfamily Arctiinae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1818. Description The wingspan is between 29 and 37 mm. Distribution This moth ...

'' – yellow-collared scape moth * '' Harrisina americana'' – grapeleaf skeletonizer

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q256296 virginica Moths of North America Moths described in 1794