Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Acronicta Members: 5 NC Records

Acronicta albarufa Grote, 1874 - Barrens Dagger

Acronicta albarufaAcronicta albarufa
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Acronictinae		P3 Number:
931419.82		 MONA Number:
9216.00		 Other Common Name:
Barrens Daggermoth
Comments: One of 74 species in this genus found in North America north of Mexico (Schmidt and Anweiler, 2020), 42 of which have been recorded in North Carolina. This species is placed in subgenus Lepitoreuma by Schmidt and Anweiler, and within the Increta Species Group. Other members of this group in North Carolina include Acronicta exilis, A. ovata, A. modica (=haesitata), A. immodica (=modica), A. increta, and A. tristis.
Species Status: Two subspecies exist, of which only the nominate form occurs in our area (Schmidt and Anweiler, 2020)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Not in any of the field guidesOnline Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Rings et al. (1992); Schweitzer et al. (2011); Schmidt and Anweiler (2020)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Schweitzer et al. (2011); Wagner et al. (2011); Schmidt and Anweiler (2020)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized Dagger with a pattern very similar to A. ovata but with a blue-gray rather than pale grayish ground color; males also have whiter hindwings than A. ovata and females have darker gray-brown hindwing (Forbes, 1954; Rings et al., 1992; Schweitzer et al., 2011; Schmidt and Anweiler, 2020). As in A. ovata, the basal dash curves smoothly upward to merge with antemedial line, forming a somewhat pale oval patch in the otherwise darker basal area. The reniform is also shaded with reddish, the orbicular is round with a gray central spot, and the anal dash is dark and sharply defined. Melanic forms of A. ovata have a greenish cast that is absent in A. albarufa (Rings et al., 1992) and other blue-gray species of Acronicta lack the oval-shaped basal patch and other details of this pattern.
Wingspan: 30-35 mm
Forewing Length: 15.7 mm, males; 16.7 mm, females (Schmidt and Anweiler (2020)
Adult Structural Features: Reproductive structures are highly similar throughout the Increta Species Group and are of essentially no use in identifying the separate species (Schmidt and Anweiler, 2020)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are illustrated in Wagner et al. (2011), Scheitzer et al., (2011), and Schmidt and Anweiler (2020). They are similar to those of other species in the Ovata Species Group and need to be reared to adulthood in order to confirm their identities (Schweitzer et al., 2011).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Recorded at two sites in the Fall-line Sandhills and historically from Raleigh in the Eastern Piedmont.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Acronicta albarufaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)

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