black-dotted glyph

not listed

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

not listed

Black-dotted glyph is a common, small, colorful, early season moth. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains. It is common in Minnesota. The larvae feed on the leaves of grasses, sedges, and smartweed. Adults are active from May through July. Their cryptic, colorful markings resemble lichen.

Adults are ⅜″ (9 to 10 mm) in length and have a ⅝″ to 13⁄16″ (17 to 21 mm) wingspan. Moth size is sometimes given in terms of forewing length, which in this case is ⅜″ (9 mm).

The pair of small, finger-like processes (labial palps) curving up from the lower part of the head are long, extending at least to the middle of the face. The antennae on the male are minutely toothed.

The thorax is roughly scaled but it does not have a tuft of hairs.

Each of the first four segments of the abdomen has a tuft of black hair. Each tuft is progressively longer than the previous one.

The forewing is narrow and white. The basal, median, and subterminal areas are variably mottled with green. There is a large, olive-green patch in the median area at the inner margin. It is shaped like a sideways trapezoid. When the wings are closed, the patches of both wings form a large, hexagonal spot with a small black dot in the middle. There is usually an olive-green patch near the middle of the leading edge (costal margin). A series of bold, black, longitudinal dashes extend from near the wingtip diagonally inward and forward. They often more or less merge together.

There is a tiny spot (orbicular spot) in the upper median area and a large spot (reniform spot) in the lower median area. The orbicular spot is elliptical, filled with black, and outlined with white. The reniform spot is a hollow white outline.

Total length: ⅜″ (9 to 10 mm)

Wingspan: about ⅝″ to 13⁄16″ (17 to 21 mm)

One season per year: May through July

Grasses, sedges, and smartweed

Flower nectar

Sources

4, 21, 24, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82, 83.

Common

Location: Woodbury, MN