''Acsala'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus of

lichen moth The Lithosiini are a tribe of lichen moths in the family Erebidae. The taxon was described by Gustaf Johan Billberg in 1820. Systematics The tribe was previously treated as a higher-level taxon, the subfamily Lithosiinae, within the lichen an ...

in the monotypic subtribe Acsalina of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

. Its single species, ''Acsala anomala'', has

Hodges number A MONA number (short for Moths of North America), or Hodges number after Ronald W. Hodges, is part of a Numbering scheme, numbering system for List of moths of North America, North American moths found north of Mexico in the Continental United Sta ...

8104.1 and is known from the US (

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

) and Canada (

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

Behavior

Eggs are deposited in a single layer on the underside of rocks, in batches of up to thirty, and take eight to ten days to hatch. Larvae feed on rock-growing

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s, with a strong preference for black foliose and crustose lichens. Species of ''

Buellia ''Buellia'' is a genus of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the family Caliciaceae. The fungi are usually part of a crustose lichen. In this case, the lichen species is given the same name as the fungus. But members may also grow as parasites on lic ...

'', ''

Lecidea ''Lecidea'' is a genus of crustose lichen, crustose lichens with a carbon-black ring or outer margin (exciple) around the fruiting body disc (apothecium), usually (or always) found growing on (Saxicolous lichen, saxicolous) or in (Endolithic lich ...

'', '' Orphniospora'', '' Parmelia'' and ''

Umbilicaria Rock tripe is the common name for various lichens of the genus ''Umbilicaria'' that grow on rocks. They are widely distributed, including on bare rock in Antarctica, and throughout northern parts of North America such as New England and the Rocky ...

'' have been recorded as food sources. Adult males possess weak flight and are day-active; females are flightless and spend much of their time under rocks.

Appearance

Freshly laid eggs are red-orange, and later turn pale orange. Larvae have barbed

setae In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae ...

. Adult males have broad wings with a wingspan of 27–28 mm, while adult females possess narrow ("stenopterous") wings. Wing venation is variable.

Taxonomy

''Acsala anomala'' and its genus were both first described by Foster H. Benjamin in 1935. Subtribe Acsalina was introduced in 1983 by Franclemont, but remained a ''

nomen nudum In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published ...

'' until a formal description was given in 1999 by Amel Bendib and Joël Minet.

References

* Lithosiini Moths of North America Monotypic moth genera Noctuoidea genera {{Acsalina-stub