Sthenopis argenteomaculatus

Sthenopis argenteomaculatus, the silver-spotted ghost moth, is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It was described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1841, and is known in North America[2] from Nova Scotia to Virginia and west to Minnesota.

Silver-spotted ghost moth
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hepialidae
Genus: Sthenopis
Species:
S. argenteomaculatus
Binomial name
Sthenopis argenteomaculatus
(Harris, 1841)[1]
Synonyms
  • Hepialus argenteomaculatus Harris, 1841
  • Sthenopis argentata Packard, [1865]
  • Cossus alni Kellicott, 1885
  • Hepialus los Strecker, 1893
  • Sthenopis perdita Dyar, 1893
Wings closed

The wingspan is about 65–100 mm. The forewings are gray to tan, crossed by irregular dark bands. Adults are on wing from June to August.[3]

Food plants for this species include Alnus, Betula, and Salix. They bore in roots of their host plant that are partially submerged in water. The life cycle takes two years.[4]

References
  1. Nielsen, Ebbe S.; Robinson, Gaden S.; Wagner, David L. (2000). "Ghost-moths of the world: a global inventory and bibliography of the Exoporia (Mnesarchaeoidea and Hepialoidea) (Lepidoptera )" (PDF). Journal of Natural History. 34 (6): 823–878. doi:10.1080/002229300299282. S2CID 86004391.
  2. "110016.00 – 0018 – Sthenopis argenteomaculatus – Silver-spotted Ghost Moth – (Harris, 1841)". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  3. Moth Magic Archived from the original June 7, 2012.
  4. Moths of Maryland


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