Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Acronicta Members: 55 NC Records

Acronicta clarescens Guenée, 1852 - Clear Dagger

Acronicta clarescensAcronicta clarescens
view caption 		Acronicta clarescensAcronicta clarescens
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Acronictinae		P3 Number:
931434.2		 MONA Number:
9246.00
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. Acronicta clarescens is a member of Species Group II of Forbes (1954), which includes 17 additional species in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Acronicta pruni)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Schmidt and Anweiler (2020)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Normally easily identified by a tuft of yellowish, stiff scales at the anterior of the thorax located just behind the collar; this tuft can be missing in some specimens, however (Forbes, 1954). The ground color of the forewings is typically a light ash gray. A fine, black basal dash is present but partially obscured by a more smudgy black shade in the fold. An anal and apical black dash are also present but also somewhat smudged. The antemedian is double, with the anterior portion merging with the basal dash; the posterior portion is usually free. The postmedian is also double and regularly scalloped, with a long, outward-pointing tooth on the anal vein (just before the anal dash). The orbicular is usually ovoid and filled with the pale ground color. The reniform is often shaded with a fuscous or brownish shade that extends in from the costa as a diffuse and partial median band. A terminal series of dark gray dots is present. The hindwings are whitish but shaded with fuscous, darker in the female. Although morula also has a ochre tuft on the thorax, it is usually larger and more elongated; the ground color of that species is often shaded with ochre. Acronicta spinigera is also similar but lacks the yellow thoracic tuft and has finer, unsmudged dashes.
Structural photos
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.
Acronicta clarescensAlamance 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%20Hanover 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)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.