Barrens dagger moth

Description

Acronicta albarufa, the barrens dagger moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It has a fragmented distribution in North America that includes southern Ontario and Manitoba, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Colorado. It may also be present in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, mainland New York and New Mexico. It has been suggested that populations in the south-western United States may be a separate species. It is listed as a species of special concern and believed extirpated in the US state of Connecticut. The larvae feed on Quercus ilicifolia, though other oak leaves have been used. Barrens dagger moth has a fragmented distribution that includes southern Ontario and Manitoba, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Colorado. It may be extirpated from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, mainland New York, and New Mexico. It has been suggested that populations in the southwestern United States may be a separate species. No maps of barrens dagger moth distribution were available as of 2008. Barrens dagger moths generally occur in oak (Quercus spp.) or pine (Pinus spp.) barren communities. They are associated with pitch pine–bear oak (P. rigida–Q. ilicifolia) forest and oak scrub communities in New England and southeastern New York. On Martha's Vineyard, they may be associated with frost-bottom communities (Goldstein 1994, cited in). They have been observed in black oak–post oak (Q. velutina–Q. stellata) woodland in New Jersey and occur in an area of the Atlantic City International Airport that has been mowed every 1 to 2 years since the 1940s.Barrens dagger moths occupy oak savannahs and oak-hickory (Carya spp.) forests in the western and southern portions of their range Barrens dagger moth habitat is often described as sandy, xeric, and open oak-dominated communities. Rare moths that occur in pitch pine-bear oak communities, including barrens dagger moth, were associated with early successional habitat patches in southeastern Massachusetts. Barrens dagger moths have not been documented in most potential habitat, despite being relatively easy to detect (see Sampling). More detailed studies on barrens dagger moth habitat requirements are needed.