Lacinipolia meditata The Thinker

41. Lacinipolia meditata (Grote) The Thinker

(Fig. 76, Map 42)

Identification: Forewing length 12–15 mm. Forewing ground color is brown to dark chocolate brown with varying amounts of ferruginous shading throughout wing. Markings are not well defined, especially in darker specimens. In lighter specimens, the antemedial line is brown with some scales tipped with white. Orbicular and reniform spots are lighter than surrounding area with white tipped scales around margin and outlined with brown. In the terminal area of forewing scales can be tipped with white. Hindwing is gray to dark brown with a ferruginous cast.

Flight period: August to mid-October.

Collected localities: North Carolina: Haywood Co., Purchase Knob, Purchase Knob at house, Purchase Knob in woods at base of knob, Purchase Knob NW of house in forest; Swain Co., Big Cove Road site b, Big Cove Road site c. Tennessee: Cocke Co., Cosby ATBI house, Foothills Parkway second overlook, Foothills Parkway; Sevier Co., Elkmont. (23 specimens)

Elevation range: 1760–2400 and 4800–4924 ft. (536–768 and 1463–1501 m)

General distribution: Across Canada from Newfoundland to Alberta. In the U.S. it ranges from Maine south to South Carolina, throughout the Midwest from South Dakota to Texas, and west to Montana.

Larval hosts: This is a polyphagous species feeding mainly on herbaceous plants including goldenrod (Solidago sp., Asteraceae), white heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides (L.) G.L. Nesom var. ericoides , Asteraceae), clover (Trifolium sp., Fabaceae), bluegrass (Poa sp., Poaceae), broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus L., Poaceae), apple (Malus sp., Rosaceae), tobacco (Nicotiana sp., Solanaceae), and grape (Vitus sp., Vitaceae) (Godfrey 1972). Larvae obtained from eggs were reared on common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg., Asteraceae) (Godfrey 1972).

MAP 42. Collecting localities of Lacinipolia meditata.