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

Acronicta immodica Walker, 1856 - Medium Dagger

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: AcronictinaeP3 Number: 931465.00 MONA Number: 9244.00 MONA Synonym: Acronicta modica
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 in the Increta Species Group. Other members of this group in North Carolina include A. albarufa, A. ovata, A. exilis, A. modica (=haesitata), A. increta, and A. tristis.
Species Status:

Note the change in name! This species was previously named Acronicta haesitata but was recently changed by Schmidt and Anweiler (2020) to Acronicta modica, since the type specimen of A. modica turned out to be what was later called A. haesitata. Conversely, the species that formerly was identified as A. modica is now re-named as A. immodica.

Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954, as A. modica); Schmidt and Anweiler (2020)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, fairly uniform gray dagger. The ground color of the forewings is pale gray but more-or-less tinged with yellow; the occipital area of the head and tegulae may also be marked with yellow. The basal area is not darker than the rest of the wing and the antemedian line does not strongly contrast with the ground color. The other transverse lines and outlines of the spots are also fairly diffuse, but the anal dash is typically black and narrowly defined. The hindwings are pale fuscous. Acronicta modica (formerly A. haesitata) is similar in size and pattern but lacks the yellow tinge on the forewings, has a somewhat darker antemedian, and has more diffuse anal dashes if they are present at all (Forbes, 1954). Neither A. immodica nor A. modica has a reddish shade at the reniform, which is more characteristic of A. ovata, A. exilis, A. increta, or A. albarufa.
Wingspan: 33-37 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Forewing Length: 17.3 mm, males; 17.9 mm, females (Schmidt and Anweiler, 2020)
Adult Structural Features: Apart from size -- which distinguishes A. exilis from the others -- members of the Increta Species Group show essentially no structural differences, including reproductive structures (Schmidt and Anweiler, 2020).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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