''Acontia chea'' is a species of bird dropping moth in the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

. It is found in North America. The MONA or Hodges number for ''Acontia chea'' is 9160.

Morphology

Acontia ''Acontia'' is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. The genus was named by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. ''Eusceptis'', ''Pseudalypia'' and ''Spragueia'' are sometimes included in the present genus, but here they are tentatively treated ...

'' species are characterized by an elongated palpi having pointed frontal tuft, and a well developed third segment. Antennae are simple and filiform, having no complex modifications or branches. Both the

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

and

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

are covered in smooth scales, lacking tufts or patches. The

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...

is bordered with non-crenulate

cilia The cilium (: cilia; ; in Medieval Latin and in anatomy, ''cilium'') is a short hair-like membrane protrusion from many types of eukaryotic cell. (Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea.) The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike proj ...

, and plain unnotched fringe along the edges. In terms of

venation Venation may refer to: * Venation (botany), the arrangement of veins in leaves * Wing venation, the arrangement of veins in insect wings See also * * Vernation Vernation or leafing is the formation of new leaves or fronds. In plant anatomy, it ...

, veins 7 to 10 are stalked. The

larval A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

stage is characterized by the presence of four pairs of abdominal prolegs.

Morphology

References

Further reading