Texas Lep Information

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn

Eight-spotted Forester

Alypia octomaculata (Fabricius, 1775)

Owlet Moth Family Noctuidae

Forester Moth Subfamily Agaristinae

Eight-spotted Forester - Alypia octomaculata (Fabricius, 1775)

New County Record

Port O'Connor, Calhoun County, Texas
March 22, 2007 (Ladd & Petra Hockey)

Mary Moore Searight Metro Park
Austin, Travis County, Texas
16 March 2003 (Eric Isley)

Plus Blanco Co.

Range: Southern Canada and the eastern United States: NM-GA-ME-MN / adj. Can.

Flight Period: This diurnal moth flies from February-May in Texas.

Similar Species: There are four species of Alypiodes, of those, only A. geronimo also occurs in the U.S. (Arizona).

Disparate Forester (Androloma disparata) - South Texas - NABA
Two-spotted Forester - Alypiodes bimaculata - Texas Ento
Six-spotted Forester - Alypia langtoni - BugGuide.Net

Alypia wittfeldii - Florida to Georgia - BugGuide.Net
Alypia wittfeldii - Florida to Georgia - Georgia Lepidoptera

Host Food Plants:

Virginia Creeper - Photos - Parthenocissus quinquefolia - Family Vitaceae
Peppervine - Photos - Ampelopsis arborea - Family Vitaceae
Heartleaf Peppervine - Ampelopsis cordata - Family Vitaceae

Weblinks:

Adults & Larva - Georgia Lepidoptera
Adults - Moths of Maryland
Larva - Larva - Larva - Larva - BugGuide.Net

Etymology: Alypia

a (G). Not, without; together
lype (G). Pain, distress; painful

Biography: Johan Christian Fabricius (1745-1808) - Wikipedia

References:

Borror, D.J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms. National Press Books, Palo Alto. 134 pp.

Covell, C.V. Jr., 1984, 2005. Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, VA. 495 pp, 64 plates

Hampson, G.F. 1901. Catalogue of the Arctiadae (Arctianae) and Agaristidae in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History) Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British Museum, 3: xix + 690 pp.

Holland, W.J. 1903. The Moth Book: A Popular Guide to a Knowledge of the Moths of North America. Doubleday, Page, & Co., N.Y. xxiv + 479 pp.

Wagner, D.L. 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 496 pp., 1,200+ color photos.