Toadflax brocade moth

Description

Toadflax brocade moth is an exotic, medium-sized moth. It is native to Europe and Asia. In Canada, it was first introduced in 1962 at Belleville, Ontario, in an attempt to control invasive butter and eggs (Linaria vulgaris). In the United States, it was first introduced in 1968 near Missoula, Montana. Since those initial introductions, it has been release several times in both countries. It now occurs across southern Canada. In the U.S., it now occurs in the east from Maine to Virginia, west to Minnesota and Illinois, and in the west from Washington State east to Montana and Colorado.

Toadflax brocade moth is found in fields, roadsides, and waste places, wherever its host plant is found. Adults fly from June to August in Minnesota. They are active at night and will come to lights. The larvae are foodplant specialists and are found on toadflax plants (Linaria spp.). They feed on the leaf buds, flower buds, stems, leaves, and flowers.

Adults are 9⁄16″to ⅝″ (14 to 17 mm) in length and have a 1″ to 1¼″ (26 to 32 mm) wingspan. Moth size is sometimes given in terms of forewing length, which in this case is ½″ (12 to 13 mm).

There is a tuft of hair-like scales forming a tall crest on the front of the thorax and another at the rear of the thorax.

The forewing background color is grayish brown, pale brown, or tan, with dark areas, white patches, and black dashes. It is darkest in the median and subterminal areas, and there is a dark medial line. The circular spot in the upper median area (orbicular spot) is small and narrowly oval. It is filled with white and bordered with a thin black line. The spot in the upper median area between the orbicular spot and the inner margin (claviform spot) is white, narrow, and long. A black basal dash ends in the claviform spot. The kidney-shaped spot in the lower median area (reniform spot) is white and bordered with but much larger and almost bar-shaped. There is a pale or whitish, crescent-shaped mark between the reniform spot and the inner margin. The subterminal area has a row of black dashes and white patches. The fringe is checkered grayish brown and white.

Size

Total length: 9⁄16″to ⅝″ (14 to 17 mm)

Forewing length: ½″ (12 to 13 mm)

Wingspan: 1″ to 1¼″ (26 to 32 mm)

Similar Species

Habitat

Fields, roadsides, and waste places

Ecology

Season

Two generations per year:

Behavior

Adults are active at night and will come to lights. They hold their wings tight to the body when at rest.

Life Cycle

Larva Food/Hosts

Leaf buds, flower buds, stems, leaves, and flowers.

Adult Food

Flower nectar