Estigmene acrea (Drury, 1773) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in Louisiana

Estigmene acrea (Drury, 1773) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in Louisiana
by
Vernon Antoine Brou Jr., 74320 Jack Loyd Road, Abita Springs, Louisiana 70420 USA, E-mail: vabrou@bellsouth.net
a b c
d
e
f
g h j
k
m
n
o p q
6
3
0
number of adults
Fig. 1. Estigmene acrea phenotype variations: males (a-j), females (k-q).
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Fig. 2 Adult Estigmene acrea captured in Louisiana. n = 127

The common arctiid species Estigmene acrea (Drury, 1773)
(Fig. 1) is reported in various literature of the times to include
southern Canada to Colombia and Cuba. It occurs throughout
much of the United States, coast to coast. This species is quite
variable with respect to its forewing and hindwing maculation. A
small number of specimens taken during this study exhibited a
character previously reported for several species of the family
Arctiidae, including acrea as having the "greasy wing gene"
attribute in which the usual white forewing basal color appears
as a dull vitreous gray color (Fig. 1c, g, and m) and to a lesser
extent in Figs. 1d, and f .
Based on my records from a rather small sample population,
there appears to be at least four annual broods within Louisiana,
identified by red markers in Fig. 2. Numerous authors. e.g.
Fig. 3. Parish records for E. acrea. Covell (1984) list the same information concerning the number
of broods "May-Aug.; 2 broods".
Some of the information concerning various physical and biological attributes about this species available
in past and present entomological literature as well as information currently on the internet is invalid, either
based on insufficient information and/or unsubstantiated statements and assumptions from past literature.
This species was previously reported for Louisiana by Stracener (1931) and was reported captured on an
offshore oil platform off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico (Russell, 2005).
The parish records by this author are illustrated in Fig.3.
Literature cited
Covell, Jr., C.V. 1984. A field guide to the moths of eastern North America. The Peterson Field Guide Series No. 30. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston. xv + 496pp., 64 plates.
Russell, R.W. 2005. Interactions between migrating birds and offshore oil and gas platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Final
Report. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study
MMS 2005-009. 348 pp.
Stracener CL. 1931. Economic importance of the salt-marsh caterpillar (Estigmene acraea Drury) in Louisiana. Journal of Economic
Entomology 24: 835-838