Agrotis gladiaria Morrison, Swordman Dart, 1874

Pogue, Michael G., 2006, The Noctuinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U. S. A., Zootaxa 1215 (1), pp. 1-95 : 18-19

6. Agrotis gladiaria Morrison, Swordman Dart (adult), Clay­backed Cutworm (larva)

( Fig. 8, Map 5)

Identification: Forewing length 13.0–16.0 mm. Agrotis gladiaria resembles species of Feltia , but can be distinguished by the much longer pectinations in the male antenna. The gray forewing has thin black lines along the wing veins that are bordered by white, especially along M, Cu 1, Cu 2, and the anal vein. The subterminal line consists of a series of black dashes with an adjacent white spot. These markings are distributed between the wing veins. Hindwing is gray with a faint crescent­shaped discal spot.

Flight period: Collected in October.

Collected localities: North Carolina: Haywood Co., Cataloochee, Purchase Knob at house, Purchase Knob house, Purchase Knob N of house forest; Swain Co. , Big Cove Road site b, Big Cove Road site c, Big Cove Road site p, Big Cove Road site w . Tennessee: Blount Co., Tremont; Cocke Co., Cosby campground area, Foothills Parkway; Sevier Co. , Park Headquarters. (34 specimens)

MAP 5. Collecting localities of Agrotis gladiaria .

Elevation range: 1360–4950 ft. (415–1509 m)

General distribution: In southeastern Canada from Nova Scotia to Ontario; in the United States from Maine to the panhandle of Florida, west to eastern Texas, eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Larval hosts: Polyphagous on many agricultural crops including alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L., Fabaceae ), Aster sp. (Asteraceae) , beans ( Fabaceae ), blackberry ( Rubus sp. , Rosaceae ), bluegrass ( Poa sp. , Poaceae ), bluestem ( Andropogon , sp. Poaceae ), cabbage ( Brassica oleracea L., Brassicaceae ), clover ( Trifolium sp. , Fabaceae ), corn ( Zea mays L., Poaceae ), goldenrod ( Solidago sp. , Asteraceae ), little barley ( Hordeum pusillum Nutt. Poaceae ), oats ( Avena sp. Poaceae ), onion ( Allium sp. , Liliaceae ), sweetpotato ( Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam, Convolvulaceae ), tobacco (Nicotania sp., Solanaceae ), and tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L., Solanaceae ) ( Lafontaine 2004). Lafontaine (2004) states that the presumed preferred host is clover based on infestation records.