|scientific name Euxoa declarata (Wlk.)|
common name Clear Dart
A wide range from arid grasslands and cultivated areas to coniferous woodlands.
Adults are on the wing in Alberta from mid-July through mid-September, with the peak in August.
A medium-size moth (3.1-3.7 cm wingspan) with variable pale violet grey to chocolate brown forewings. The prothoracic collar usually with a narrow black band and tipped with a narrow white or pale tan band. The basal, antemedian and postmedian lines are usually well marked and doubled, and the claviform is outlined in black. The orbicular and reniform spots are prominent and filled with pale grey or brown scales, the reniform often with darker scales in the lower half. The area proximal to the orbicular and between the two spots is filled with dark scales. The terminal area of the wing is usually darker than the rest, and the fringe is pale grey or brown. The hindwings are dirty white shading to a broad smoky brown terminal band, darker in females than in males. Dark brown specimens can be mistaken for E. campestris, which is usually smaller and darker, especially the hindwings. Very similar to E. albipennis. Albipennis lacks the fine banding on the prothoracic collar, so the head and thorax appear unicolorous. The orbicular spot in albipennis is also larger than in declarata, approximately twice the width of the space between the orbicular and reniform. Albipennis males have shining white hindwings, while those of declarata have a light smoky brown cast. The basal area of the forewing in albipennis is also slightly paler then the rest of the forewing. In the male genitalia the harp is curved in declarata, straight in albipennis. Females of declarata lack the sclerotized flanges on the tips of the ovipositor lobes that are present in albipennis.
Euxoa declarata belongs to the subgenus Euxoa, characterized mainly by the shape of the vesica in males. Keys to the subgenera and species are available in Lafontaine, 1987
Poorly known. There is a single annual brood, and the larvae have a rather long aestivation period. The larvae are known only from lab-reared material. Adults are attracted to light.
A common, widespread species; no concerns.
No data. Related species are generalist feeders on low-growing broad-leaved plants.
The Maritime Provinces of Canada west to central Alaska, south to Minnesota and North Carolina in the east and Arizona, New Mexico and California in the west.
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