Salt marsh moth

Summary The Salt Marsh Moth or Acrea Moth ( Estigmene acrea) is a North American moth in the family Arctiidae. Sources and Credits • (c) Bob Patterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), • (c) Jim Vargo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), • (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), More Info • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

( • Phalaena acrea Drury, 1773 • Diacrisia mombasana Rothschild, 1910 • Bombyx caprotina Drury, 1773 • Arctia pseuderminea Harris, 1823 • Arctia pseuderminea Harris, 1841 • Leucarctia californica Packard, 1864 • Leucarctia packardii Schaupp, 1882 • Leucarctia rickseckeri Behr, 1893 • Estigmene acraea var. klagesi Ehrmann, 1894 • Spilosoma mexicana Walker, [1865] • Leucarctia acraea Estigmene acrea, the salt marsh moth or acrea moth, is a Description [ ] The head and thorax are white and the abdomen is yellow orange with a row of black spots. The forewing is white with a variable pattern of black spots, with some individuals lacking any spots. The hindwing is yellow orange in males and white in females. Both sexes have three or four black spots or blotches on the hindwings. The wingspan measures 1 + 3⁄ 4 to 2 + 11⁄ 16in). Flight [ ] This moth is generally seen from May to August, Life cycle [ ] The yellowish eggs are laid in clusters on the host plant leaves. The Host plants [ ] Host plants used by the caterpillar include The moth does not seem to be affected by any type of Subspecies [ ] • Estigmene acrea acrea • Estigmene acrea arizonensis Rothschild, 1910 (Arizona) • Estigmene acrea mexicana (Walker, [1865}) (Mexico) • Estigmene acrea columbiana Rothschild, 1910 (Colombia) Gallery [ ] • • Some Miscellaneous Results of the Work of the Division of Entomology. United States Bureau of Entomology (47): 45. 1904. • Entomological Society of America . Retrieved July 9, 2018. • ^...

Summary Estigmene acrea ( salt marsh moth or acrea moth) is a moth in the family Arctiidae. It is found in North America, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Colombia and Mexico. Sources and Credits • (c) G. L. Dearman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by G. L. Dearman • (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), More Info • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Igniting lifelong curiosity and awe for the natural world. Whether it’s through our unique education programs or the experiences and hands-on learning opportunities for all ages in our future facility, our efforts inspire an appreciation and understanding of “The Little Things That Run the World” (Edward O. Wilson, 1987). As we continue to expand the reach and impact of our education programs, at the same time we’re moving toward the dream that started our organization more than a decade ago – opening a premier education facility featuring a tropical butterfly house and insectarium. There could not be a more exciting time to support our work. The name of this elegant moth reflects its frequency in coastal salt marshes (tidal marshes) along the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf Coasts. But really, they can be found in any open habitat throughout North America, except for Alaska and the Yukon. Photos of the caterpillars are frequently sent in for identification. They can Size: Wingspan 45-68 mm Photo by: Domini Aalbers on 4/30/22 in Florence, MT

Salt Marsh Moth life cycle First, I gotta say we blew past the 500 species count for Oklahoma. We're currently sitting at 540 species and I think we'll be getting into the upper 500s (approaching 600) by the end of the year. Wow! Okay, so the Salt Marsh Moth... My family spent Memorial Day weekend at Lake Texoma. While the kiddos were playing on the beach my wife noticed a furry caterpillar crawling on the ground. She called me over (I was off chasing dragonflies) and I scooped him up and entered him into iNaturalist and found out he was a Salt Marsh Moth ( Estigmene acrea). My son came over to take a look and before I could say anything he was already petting the caterpillar. (I was refraining from touching it myself because I know that some caterpillars have stinging spines.) My son's hand was wet from playing in the water and when he pet the caterpillar some of the hair stuck to his fingers. I could tell then that they were totally harmless. We took the caterpillar back to the house with us and put him in a little plastic habitat that I had with me (Thanks, OK BioBlitz!). Of course, I also had my moth guide with me, so I looked up what he likes to eat: apple trees, cabbage, corn, potatoes, tobacco, and other trees. I didn't have any of these nearby and didn't remember seeing any of these near the beach where we found the caterpillar. I googled and found that they will also eat clover. Ah ha! That's probably what he had been eating. We located some clover on our drive ho...