Noctuidae - Acontiinae

 

Male

Female

 

 

Tarache delecta (Walker)

Acontia delecta Walker, [1858] 1857, List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 12:799.

Acontia metallica Grote, 1865, Proc. Ent. Soc. Philad., 4:327, pl. 2, fig. 7.

Diagnosis: Tarache delecta is an uncommon, but highly distinctive, species from eastern North America. The male forewing has a pure white background with well defined pattern of rusty-brown patches. There is a ovate patch along the costa of the wing near the base and a small gray patch on the inner margin below it. The postmedial and subterminal areas are rusty-brown with fine, irregular white, gray, and yellow lines. The terminal area and the fringe are white except near the apex of the wing. The sides of the thorax are white, but the center is gray. The hindwing is yellow with a fairly distinct darker outer margin. The female is similar to the male, but the dark markings are more extensive. Overall the maculation is not as crisp appearing as in the male.

Distribution: (Based only on specimens in the USNM). Tarache delecta is a rare species and is represented in the USNM by specimens from New Jersey and Maryland as well as material from southern Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas.

Identification Quality: Excellent

Larva: The larvae has been described by Crumb, 1956, U.S. Dept. Agric. Tech. Bull. 1135:50.

Foodplants: Hibiscus moschuetos (Malvaceae) (Crumb, 1956).

Distribution map based only on USNM specimens
Tarache delecta

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