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Acontia cretata |
Bird Dropping Moth |
MONA# 9161 |
Family:
Noctuidae |
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| ATTRIBUTES IN GENERAL |
Classification
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Arthropoda
CLASS: Insecta
ORDER: Lepidoptera
SUPERFAMILY: Noctuoidae
FAMILY: Noctuidae
SUBFAMILY: Acontiinae
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General Species Description
| ADULT IDENTIFICATION & WINGSPAN: |
| ADULT FOOD: |
| SPECIES RANGE: |
| ADULT FLIGHT TIME: |
| HABITAT: |
| LARVAL IDENTIFICATION & LENGTH: |
| LARVAL HOST: |
| LARVAL EMERGENCE (TIME/SEASON): |
| References: |
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FIELD NOTES for Acontia cretata: |
| Coll. Dates (mm/dd/yyyy) |
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| Locality & GPS coords |
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| Elevation (ft) |
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| Habitat |
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| Host Plant |
| Sphaeralcea ambigua (Globe mallow) |
| Family: Malvaceae |
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| Collector(s) |
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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. |
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| Ecology Notes:
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| HABITAT |
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| Sonoran Desert (Yuma Co., AZ) |
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| HOST |
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| Sphaeralcea ambigua (Globe mallow) |
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REARING / LAB NOTES forAcontia cretata: |
| Voucher No. |
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| Found as |
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| Food plant used |
cuttings from host plant |
| Voucher fate |
| eclosion, April 2012 |
| *adult specimen borrowed by D. Wagner |
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| Number of days (1st-Ultimate instar) |
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| Number of days (prepupa) |
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| Number of days (pupa to eclosion) |
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Morphology Notes:
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| Larvae: |
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| Pupa: |
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| Cocoon: |
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| Adult: |
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Behavior notes:
| Ovum: |
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| Larvae: |
Ultimate stage larvae color transiitons from green to red with pink shades during pre-pupal stage. |
| Pupa: |
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| Cocoon: |
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| Adult: |
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Parasitoids:
| Parasitoids (yes/no) |
Yes |
| Para. lep voucher: |
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| Para. species: |
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| Para. voucher #: |
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| Larva |
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| Ultimate stage on host (red color the result of pre-pupal stage). Ultimate stage larvae are green, |
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| Adult |
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| No image *waiting for adult specimen to be returned |
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