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Acontia cretata

Bird Dropping Moth

MONA# 9161

Family: Noctuidae

 

   
Acontia cretata
ATTRIBUTES IN GENERAL
Classification
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Arthropoda
CLASS: Insecta
ORDER: Lepidoptera
SUPERFAMILY: Noctuoidae
FAMILY: Noctuidae
SUBFAMILY: Acontiinae
TRIBE:

 

General Species Description
ADULT IDENTIFICATION & WINGSPAN:
ADULT FOOD:
SPECIES RANGE:
ADULT FLIGHT TIME:
HABITAT:
LARVAL IDENTIFICATION & LENGTH:
LARVAL HOST:
LARVAL EMERGENCE (TIME/SEASON):
References:
Life History Study

FIELD NOTES for Acontia cretata:

Coll. Dates (mm/dd/yyyy)
Spring 2012
Locality & GPS coords
Yuma, Yuma County, AZ
Elevation (ft)
200'
Habitat
Sonoran Desert
Host Plant
Sphaeralcea ambigua (Globe mallow)
Family: Malvaceae
Collector(s)
Jennifer Bundy
Field observations:
Larvae (March 2012) -The desert globe mallow found here in Yuma, AZ is Sphaeralcea ambigua.
-I collected the species by scanning the branches of each plant. The larvae are extremely cryptic and seem to mimic the flower buds and shapes of its host plant leaves.
Parasitoids (March '12) -I observed a wasp species scanning the host as well. Later, I would discover a few of my larvae were parasitized. The parasitoid larvae were saved and isolated, later to emerge as the same wasp I had observed earlier in the field.
   
Ecology Notes:
   
   

 

 

 

HABITAT
Sonoran Desert (Yuma Co., AZ)
 
HOST
Sphaeralcea ambigua (Globe mallow)

REARING / LAB NOTES forAcontia cretata:

Voucher No.
000JLB2012
Found as
larvae
Food plant used cuttings from host plant
Voucher fate
eclosion, April 2012
*adult specimen borrowed by D. Wagner
Number of days (1st-Ultimate instar)  
Number of days (prepupa)  
Number of days (pupa to eclosion)  
Morphology Notes:
Ovum:  
Larvae:  
Pupa:  
Cocoon:  
Adult:  
Behavior notes:
Ovum:  
Larvae: Ultimate stage larvae color transiitons from green to red with pink shades during pre-pupal stage.
Pupa:  
Cocoon:  
Adult:  
Parasitoids:
Parasitoids (yes/no) Yes
Para. lep voucher:  
Para. species:  
Para. voucher #:  
Larva
Acontia cretata, Ultimate Stage
Ultimate stage on host (red color the result of pre-pupal stage). Ultimate stage larvae are green,
 
Adult
No image *waiting for adult specimen to be returned