Abagrotis cupida

5. Abagrotis cupida (Grote)

(Figs. 35–37, 79, Map 23)

Identification: Forewing length 13.0–16.0 mm. Forewing ground color is pale reddish brown to grayish brown. Orbicular and reniform spots are slightly darker than ground color to dark gray with a faint, pale outline. Antemedial, median, and postmedial lines are faint or consist of a series of black dots and dashes that are never connected. Hindwing is gray to dark gray.

Flight period: Collected in mid­May, mid­July, and mid­September.

Collected localities: Tennessee: Cocke Co., Foothills Parkway, Foothills Parkway E ast. (3 specimens)

Elevation range: 2020–2400 ft. (616–732 m).

MAP 23. Collecting localities of Abagrotis cupida.

General distribution: This species is widely distributed and is recorded from Newfoundland across Canada to British Columbia and in the United States from Maine to Tennessee and west to Minnesota. There are scattered records from South Dakota to Texas and west to Colorado, Utah, and Washington (Lafontaine 1998).

Larval hosts: Crumb (1956) lists willow (Salix sp., Salicaceae) and reports that larvae damage apple (Malus sp., Rosaceae), grape (Vitus sp., Vitaceae), and peach trees (Prunus persica (L.), Rosaceae) in Ohio.