THE WEDGELING
Galgula partita
OWLET MOTH FAMILY (Noctuidae)
Description
The Wedgeling has a wingspan of 1 inch. The sexes are dimorphic in color with the male forewing being reddish brown to gray and the female's being dark maroon to blackish. Both have a large dark spot on the costa and angled post median and subterminal lines. The hindwing is grayish brown, darker in the female than in the male. The larva grows to about 1 inch long. This caterpillar is easily recognized by the swellings on the 3rd segment of the thorax and the first segments of the abdomen. The 8th abdominal segment is sharply angled. It is dark brown with a white middorsal stripe. The head is black with a large inverted white "V."
Occurrence
The Wedgeling is probably common in Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods . It has been photographed at Camp Brewster in late April and in Child's Hollow in Fontenelle Forest in early May. The adults are attracted to artificial lights.
Comments
The larvae eat Wood Sorrel (Oxalis). It is not known how far north this species can winter, but they probably cannot winter this far north.
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is: Babs Padelford.
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