AMBIGUOUS MOTH

Lascoria ambigualis

OWLET MOTH FAMILY (Erebidae)

The Ambiguous Moth has a wingspan of approximately one inch. The forewing is brown, tan and gray with various spots and patterns.  There is a straight dark brown line across the wing near the base which divides the pale basal area from the darker distal area.  The patterns and colors are variable in this species.  The hindwing is plain brown.  Males have a distinctive notch in the outer margin of  the forewing with a black dot at the head (see photo A).  Both sexes have a small black apical dash on the forewing.  This moth was identified by  a volunteer expert from the BugGuide website.

This moth is probably common at Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods.  The individuals shown here were photographed at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center in mid-July and mid-August.

The larval food for this species is ragweed stalks, chrysanthemum and horseradish.  This species has recently been reclassified to the Litter Moth family (Erebidae).  Larval food for this family ranges from living foliage and flowers to fallen leaves.  Most larvae overwinter as half-grown caterpillars in leaf litter.