dark-banded owlet

not listed

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

not listed

Dark-banded owlet is a medium-sized litter moth. It occurs in the United States east of the Great Plains, and in southern Canada from Nova Scotia to Alberta. It is common in Minnesota. Adults are found in from April through August in woodlands, fields, and gardens. Larvae feed on wilted leaves that are blackened with decay.

Adults are roughly triangular in shape (deltoid), are ½″ to 9⁄16″ (12 to 14 mm) in length, and have a ¾″ to 1″ (20 to 25 mm) wingspan.

The forewings are concave on the upper half of the outer margin, making the wingtip (apex) appear pointed. They are pale tan or grayish-brown and are crossed with lines and bands. From the wing base to the tip there is an antemedial (AM) band, two median lines, a postmedial (PM) band, a subterminal (ST) line, and a terminal line. The AM band is dark, straight, and broad. It is sharply bordered in front and fades in the rear. The median lines are dark, jagged, and widely separated. The front line is broad with ill-defined edges. The rear line is thin and well-defined. The PM band is broad, dark, and slightly wavy. The ST line is pale and jagged. It is defined by the PM band above and a diffuse dark area below. The terminal line is represented by a series of connected, dark, shallow, forward-pointing chevrons, one centered on each vein. There is a round spot (orbicular spot) between the AM band and upper median line, and a kidney-shaped spot (reniform spot) between the two median lines. Both spots are close to the leading (costal) margin. The orbicular spot is usually reduced to just a single, small, dark dot. The reniform spot is two small, distinctly separated dots. There is an oblique, poorly-defined, dark line extending from the apex toward the ST line.

The hindwing is paler with a thin dark terminal line.

The head and thorax are the same color as the forewings. The antennae on both sexes are slender and thread-like. On the male they are moderately covered with long bristles.

Total length: ½″ to 9⁄16″ (12 to 14 mm)

Wingspan: ¾″ to 1″ (20 to 25 mm)

Woodlands, fields, and gardens

Two generations per year: April through August

Adults rest with their wings held flat. They are active at night and will come to lights.

Dead leaves blackened with decay

Sources

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

Common in Minnesota

Until recently, the subfamily Herminiinae was treated either as the separate family Herminiidae or as a subfamily of Noctuidae. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Erebidae (Zahiri, Reza; et al., 2011) determined that Herminiinae are closely related to Aganainae, which is a subfamily of Erebidae, and Herminiinae was moved as a whole to Erebidae.

Location: Woodbury, MN

Location: Woodbury, MN

Location: Woodbury, MN

Location: Woodbury, MN