Grammia blakei

Description

Grammia blakei, or Blake's tiger moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1864. It is found on the North American Great Plains, from the southern prairie provinces of Canada south to US states of Texas and western Colorado. The habitat consists of sandy prairie, including overgrazed native pastures. The length of the forewings is about 13.8 mm. The ground color of the forewings is dark chocolate brown to black with pale buff bands. The hindwings are pale yellow, but sometimes orange. There are dark brown to black markings. Adults are on wing from late May to early September, usually in one generation per year, although a partial second generation may occur in the southern parts of the range. The larvae feed on Antennaria dimorpha, Koeleria cristata, Poa sandbergii, Stipa comata, Agropyron smithii, Eurotia lanata, Bouteloua gracilis and Carex species.