Eueretagrotis perattentus (Grote)

Pogue, Michael G., 2006, The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U. S. A., Zootaxa 1215 (1), pp. 1-95 : 50-51

18. Eueretagrotis perattentus (Grote) Two­spot Dart

( Fig. 59, Map 36)

Identification: Forewing length 16.0–19.0 mm. This is a dark gray species with a black basal dash and black quadrate patch between the orbicular and reniform spots. There is a sharp contrast between the black prothorax and white tufted thorax. Orbicular and reniform spots are usually white, but can be mostly gray and outlined in black. The distal margin of the reniform is angulate. Antemedial and postmedial lines are black, shaded with white to reddish brown. Subterminal line is pale with a lighter colored terminal area in most specimens. Hindwing is dirty white suffused with pale gray with a faint discal cell and faint thin gray marginal line.

Flight period: Collected in June and July.

Collected localities: North Carolina: Haywood Co., Balsam Mountain picnic area on Flat Creek Trail , Polls Gap on Hemphill Bald Trail , Purchase Knob , Purchase Knob at house, Polls Gap on Rough Fork Trail ; Swain Co. , Big Cove Rd. , 1 mi N Clingman’s Dome, Clingman’s Dome , 3 mi N Clingman’s Dome, 5 mi N Clingman’s Dome, Indian Gap Clingman’s Dome Road , Upper Noland Divide Trail ca. Clingman’s Dome . Tennessee: Blount Co., Spence Field; Sevier Co. , Jake’s Creek Trail. (41 specimens)

MAP 36. Collecting localities of Eueretagrotis perattentus .

Elevation range: 2120–6640 ft. (646–2024 m)

General distribution: This species is distributed coast to coast across central and southern Canada, and in the northern United States, south along the Appalachians to western North Carolina and Tennessee, with a few scattered records along the Rockies from southwestern Montana to southeastern Arizona ( Lafontaine 1998) .

Larval hosts: Reared on blueberry ( Vaccinium spp. , Ericaceae ) and pin cherry ( Prunus pennsylvanica L., Rosaceae ) ( Lafontaine 1998).