Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands
Adelphagrotis stellaris [Noctuidae]
Wingspan 3.6 cm. Forewing is light gray to brown with a pale yellow or red reniform spot. This noctuid is common and endemic to wet coastal forests in the Pacific West. Moths fly in midsummer. Caterpillars are generalist feeders on the foliage of flowering trees and shrubs such as dogwood (Cornus), ocean spray (Holodiscus discolor), snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus), ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus), and buckthorn (Rhamnus purshiana).
Similar species: Adelphagrotis indeterminata forewing is dark gray with a black basal dash, thoracic collar black, widely distributed in the Pacific West, and the caterpillars feed on flowering trees and shrubs; Protolampra rufipectus (Noctuidae) forewing is light purple-gray without a yellow reniform spot and with a dark brown thoracic collar, widely distributed in dry forests of western North America, caterpillars feed on the foliage of flowering trees and shrubs.
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