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Atteva aurea
Adult: forewing orange with several large black and white rosettes with some variability. Hindwing translucent black.
From Ontario and New York south to Florida, west to Nebraska and Texas, and south into Mexico. Larvae are found in webs in Ailanthus. Adults found taking nectar from flowers. This one was attracted to a porch light in the midlands of South Carolina in Edgefield County.
Larvae live in communal webs. Atteva aurea can be a minor pest in nurseries, although it rarely does serious damage. At first sight, this species is often mistaken for a beetle because of its bright colors and habit of visiting flowers in the daytime.
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