Wing span: 46mm
Flight time: July
Description. FW uniform light brown-gray; lines black, becoming obsolete below middle of FW; reniform with black outer ring. HW yellow-orange with black bands; inner band ending abruptly before inner margin. 40-50 mm. H 34: 9. B & Mc 10: 18.
Similar species. This moth is part of an essentially western complex of Lead Plant (Amorpha) and Locust (Robinia) feeders. C. nuptialis (plate 7: 6) is closely similar to abbreviatella,but has a small, solid black reniform. C. whitneyi (plate 7: 7) is also similar, but has a dark, heavy am line (ending in a broad triangle at the middle of FW), and a blackish patch around reniform. C. amestris has doubled FW lines. See clintoni.
Range. Essentially western, but with sporadic eastern records. C. abbreviatella from Manitoba to Florida and westward (also reported from Pennsylvania). C. nuptialis at extreme west of our area (Illinois, Wisconsin) and westward. C. whitneyi from Ohio and Tennessee, west and north to Kansas and Manitoba.
Status. Sporadic, rare, or accidental over most of our area.
Larval foodplants. Lead Plant (Amorpha).
Data from Legion of Night by Theodore Sargent.
Record # | Date | Locale | State | Lat/Lon | Collected By | Count |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
133170 | 2015-07-10 | Mile Long Prairie | Iowa | 43.40655 -91.550008 | Frank Olsen | 1 |
145402 | 2015-06-21 | Allamakee County, Iowa | Iowa | Location Protected | Kyle E. Johnson | 1 |
145403 | 2015-06-21 | Allamakee County, Iowa | Iowa | Location Protected | Kyle E. Johnson | 1 |
145404 | 2015-06-21 | Allamakee County, Iowa | Iowa | Location Protected | Kyle E. Johnson | 1 |
358556 | 2013-07-20 | Mile Long Prairie | Iowa | 43.406167 -91.550667 | Kirk Larsen | 1 |
18802 | 1993-07-10 | Sioux City State Prairie Preserve | Iowa | 42.5241 -96.4362 | Tim Orwig | 1 |