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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Noctuidae 933526 – 10661   Agrotis malefida Guenée, 1852              Rascal Dart

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Larva and Host Plants: Host familiy: Alliaceae[Liliaceae] Amaranthaceae[Chenopodiaceae] Asteraceae Brassicaceae Caryophyllaceae abaceae Malvaceae Poaceae Portulacaceae Solanaceae.  Host genera: Allium Brassica Beta Capsicum Cynodon Gossypium Lactuca Phaseolus Pisum Portulaca Nicotiana Saccharum Solanum[=Lycopersicon] Sorghum Stellaria Tragopogon Trifolium Zea.  Notes: Polyphagous (Kimball 1965); Polyphagous on herbaceous plants (Poole 1989); wide variety of broad-leaved herbaceous plants (Powell & Opler 2009).  (Shropshire & Douglas 2025) Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: malefida Guenée, 1852 (Agrotis) - MONA 1983: 10661 consueta Walker, 1857 (Agrotis) inspinosa Guenée, 1852 (Agrotis) robusta (Blanchard, 1852) (Noctua) submuscosa Herrich-Schäffer, 1868 (Agrotis)

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced. Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history) Lafontaine, J. D., 2004. Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 27.1: p. 248; pl. L.33-35. order or free PDF Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 58.4m; p. 313. Book Review and ordering Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online) Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at iNaturalist

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