Acronicta superans
Encyclopedia
The Splendid Dagger Moth (Acronicta superans) is a moth
of the Noctuidae
family. It is found from Newfoundland
west to the foothills of Alberta
, south to eastern Kentucky
. It appears to have extended its range westward into Alberta recently.
The wingspan
is 40–45 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August depending on the location.
The larva
e feed on the leaves of apple, birch, cherry, hazel, hawthorn, maple, mountain-ash, pear, plum and serviceberry.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
family. It is found from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
west to the foothills of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, south to eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. It appears to have extended its range westward into Alberta recently.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 40–45 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August depending on the location.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on the leaves of apple, birch, cherry, hazel, hawthorn, maple, mountain-ash, pear, plum and serviceberry.