Aplectoides condita (Guenee, 1852)
A noctuid moth
NatureServe Global Rank: G4
Virginia State Rank: S1S3
VA DGIF Tier: None
Federal Legal Status: None
Virginia Legal Status: None
Description: Aplectoides condita is medium sized (17-20mm) with brown to dark gray forewings. The orbicular and reniform spots are concolorous with the ground color, mixed with white, and partially outlined in black. The hindwings are dirty white with a faint discal cell and obscure pale gray shading near the outer margin.
Similar species: Aplectoides pressus and Aplectoides brunneomedia are similar in appearance, but can be distinguished by the lack of longitudinal yellow streaks and the lack of a short black basal dash on the forewing that is present in A. condita. They also have a more jagged and distinct st line while that of Aplectoides condita is rather indistinct.
North American Range: Aplectoides condita is a widely distributed boreal zone species occurring in the East as far south as northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and west to Michigan and Wisconsin. It is also found along the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia (Bath County) and North Carolina.
VA Observations by Locality: Bath
Flight season and broods: Adults fly from the end of May to July. There is only one brood.
Habitat and Food Plants: The habitat for this species has not been formally described. It hosts on pines, especially Larix laricina.
Behavior and Ecology: They over-winter as a larva within the caccoon. Little else is known regarding this species behavior.
Population trend and potential threats: Population status and threats are unknown.
Management practices: Since little is known regarding the life history and threats, management practices have not been determined.
References: McCabe, T. L. 1988. Larval hosts of Anaplectoides and Aplectoides with notes on their biology. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 96(1): 1-6.
Moth Photographers Group at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University. Web application at: http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/large_map.php?hodges=10999 Accessed: 11Apr2013
Pogue, Michael G. The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A. New Zealand: Magnolia Press, 2006. Print.