Fingered Dagger Moth Caterpillar

Description:

Identification Adult: Powdery gray FW with darker markings and whitish HW. FW with the normal markings somewhat broken and blurred, the outer part of the PM and a partial reniform spot most prominent. The orbicular spot is a small, hollow ring. There is no basal dash. The anal "dagger mark" is blurred but obvious. The male hindwings are white with grey scales along the veins. The female is larger and is more heavily dusted with grey on the hindwings. Antennae in both sexes are simple. Larva: body covered with stiff orange or brown hair dorsally, and pale yellowish or white hair laterally, with several much longer black hairs and white hairs concentrated near the front and back (may also have three dense dorsal tufts of long black hair on abdominal segments 1, 3, and 8)

Habitat:

Range all of United States and southern Canada (Newfoundland to Florida, west through Texas to California, north to British Columbia) Habitat deciduous and mixedwood forest

Notes:

Species Acronicta dactylina - Fingered Dagger - Hodges#9203 Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited Fingered Dagger - Acronicta dactylina Fingered Dagger - Acronicta dactylina Fuzzy Caterpillar - Acronicta dactylina Acronicta dactylina Acronicta dactylina Fingered dagger moth - Acronicta dactylina - female fingered dagger - Acronicta dactylina 2225 Acronicta dactylina - Fingered Dagger or Alder Dagger 9203 - Acronicta dactylina Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Class Insecta (Insects) Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) No Taxon (Moths) Superfamily Noctuoidea Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths) Subfamily Acronictinae Genus Acronicta (Dagger Moths) Species dactylina (Fingered Dagger - Hodges#9203) Hodges Number 9203 Other Common Names Alder Dagger Synonyms and other taxonomic changes western populations formerly considered a separate species (Acronicta hesperida) are now considered synonymous with A. dactylina (see Lafontaine and Troubridge, 1998) Explanation of Names DACTYLINA: from the Latin "dactylus" (a finger); the origin of the common name but it is not clear how that name applies to this species Numbers uncommon, but widely distributed Size wingspan 45-55 mm Season adults may be active from April to September but normally have a more restricted flight season (May to August, or just June and July, depending on location) larvae present from July to October Food larvae feed on alder, birch, poplar, hawthorn, willow Life Cycle one generation per year; overwinters as a pupa in leaves or debris protected in tough oval cocoon of coarse silk and hair (1) Remarks large, pale, poorly marked adults of western populations were until recently considered a separate species (Acronicta hesperida), and are still listed as such on a number of sites See Also • American Dagger which is darker grey-brown on both wings and has a doubled, white-filled PM. (compare images of both species) • Cottonwood Dagger, which is smaller and has narrower wings with a basal dash on the FW. Internet References • Moth Photographers Group • BOLD Systems • pinned adult image (CBIF) • description plus habitat, biology, distribution, food plants, and citation of A. hesperida as a former species (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta) • pinned adult image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia) • pinned adult image (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota) • live larva and adult images plus seasonality (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island) Works Cited 1. Photo Field Guide to Some Caterpillars of Southern Ontario Ian Carmichael and Ann Vance. 2004. St. Thomas Field Naturalist Club Incorporated. Contributed by Robin McLeod on 20 August, 2005 - 8:10am Additional contributions by Robert Lord Zimlich, Randy Hardy Last updated 23 December, 2012 - 5:10pm