The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U. S. A.
Author
Pogue, Michael G.
text
Zootaxa
2006
2006-05-26
1215
1
1
95
https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.1215.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.1215.1.1
11755334
5064764
B89D6B58-561B-48A5-B7D7-51B5C30B93CC
2.
Abagrotis alternata
(Grote)
Greater Red Dart (adult), Mottled Gray Cutworm (larva)
(
Fig. 31
, Map 20)
Identification
: Forewing length 15.0–20.0 mm.
Abagrotis alternata
can easily be confused with
A. anchocelioides
(Guenée)
. The best way to separate these species is by the coloration of the middle segment of the labial palpus compared to head coloration. In
A. alternata
the labial palp is dark reddish brown contrasting with the lighter cream to buff colored head. In
A. anchocelioides
the labial palp is reddish brown, concolorous with the head. Forewing ground color varies from brown to reddish brown with a lighter cream to tan contrasting terminal band. In darker brown specimens the contrasting terminal band is less evident. Orbicular spot is ovate, slightly darker than ground color, outlined in cream, and is angled at 45
o
toward wing base. Hindwing is dark brown with a tan fringe.
Flight period:
Collected from June to midOctober.
Collected localities:
North Carolina
:
Haywood Co.
,
Purchase Knob
;
Swain Co.
,
Big Cove Road
site b,
Big Cove Road
site c,
Big Cove Road
site p,
Big Cove Road
site w,
Noland Creek
.
Tennessee
:
Blount Co.
,
Cades Cove
near
Ranger Station
,
Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church
,
Cold Spring Gap
;
Cocke Co.
,
Cosby
ATBI
house,
Foothills Parkway
,
Foothills Parkway
2
nd
overlook
East
;
Sevier Co.
,
Greenbrier Ranger Station
(
40 specimens
)
Elevation range:
1700–4924 ft.
(
518–1501 m
)
General distribution:
Widely distributed in
North America
across southern
Canada
from
Nova Scotia
to
Alberta
; in the eastern United States from Maine to North Carolina and Tennessee west from Mississippi to Texas, in the
Northern Great Plains
from North and South Dakota, Montana, and northeastern Wyoming, and in the
Rocky Mountains
from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and central Arizona (
Lafontaine 1998
)
.
MAP 20.
Collecting localities of
Abagrotis alternata
.
Larval hosts:
This is a polyphagous species and feeds on a number of agriculturally important crops such as apple (
Malus
sp.
,
Rosaceae
), cherry (
Prunus avium
(L.) L.,
Rosaceae
), plum (
Prunus
sp.
,
Rosaceae
), strawberry (
Fragaria
sp.
,
Rosaceae
), hickory (
Carya
sp.
,
Juglandaceae
), walnut (
Juglans
sp.
,
Juglandaceae
), oak (
Quercus
sp.
,
Fabaceae
), cabbage (
Brassica oleracea
L.,
Brassicaceae
), tomato (
Solanum lycopersicum
L.,
Solanaceae
), and potato (
Solanum tuberosum
L.,
Solanaceae
). Larval populations usually are not sufficient to inflict economic damage, but occasionally the species is a serious pest of fruit trees and vegetable crops (
Lafontaine 1998
).