Cerastis fishii (Grote)

Pogue, Michael G., 2006, The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U. S. A., Zootaxa 1215 (1), pp. 1-95 : 44-45

12. Cerastis fishii (Grote)

( Figs. 46–47, Map 30)

Identification: Forewing length 13.0–17.0 mm. Antennae are bipectinate in the male and filiform in the female. Forewing is reddish brown, significantly lighter than in Cerastis tenebrifera (Walker) . Head and thorax are darker than forewing. Orbicular spot is absent on most specimens, when present, it consists of only a few black and white scales. Reniform spot is always present, and can be faint. It consists of a black interior bordered by white. There is a prominent black subapical spot on the costa of the forewing. The subterminal line is below this spot and consists of a series of small black spots that extend to the posterior margin. Hindwing is pale gray with a slightly darker, obscure marginal band.

Flight period: Collected in early March.

Collected localities: Tennessee: Blount Co., Tremont Environmental Education

Center. (1 specimen)

MAP 30. Collecting localities of Cerastis fishii .

Elevation range: 1360 ft. (415 m)

General distribution: This species is distributed in eastern North America from Newfoundland to southern Ontario in Canada; in the United States from Maine west to Ohio, Michigan, and northern Wisconsin, then south to North Carolina ( Lafontaine 1998). The collection from GSMNP is a new record for the state of Tennessee .

Larval hosts: Larvae feed on blueberry flowers then the leaves ( Vaccinium spp. , E ricaceae) ( McCabe 1991).