''Agonopterix arnicella'' is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the family

Depressariidae Depressariidae is a family of moths. It was formerly treated as a subfamily of Gelechiidae, but is now recognised as a separate family, comprising about 2,300 species worldwide. Subfamilies Depressariidae consists of ten subfamilies: * Acriinae ...

. It was described by

Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham (29 July 1843 – 3 December 1919), of Merton Hall, Norfolk, was an English politician and amateur entomologist. Family business Walsingham was the son of Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, and Augusta- ...

, in 1881. It is found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where it has been recorded from

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is about 22 mm. The forewings are pale ochreous, suffused and blotched with greyish fuscous. There are three fuscous discal dots, with a slight greyish fuscous cloud between them. There is an ill-defined pale basal patch and the costal and apical margins are diffusely dotted with greyish fuscous. The hindwings are shining grey. Adults are on wing from June to September. The larvae feed on ''

Erigeron ''Erigeron'' () is a large genus of plants in the composite family (Asteraceae). It is placed in the tribe Astereae and is closely related to the Old World asters (''Aster (genus), Aster'') and the true daisies (''Bellis''). The genus has a cosm ...

'' species, as well as ''

Arnica angustifolia ''Arnica angustifolia'' is an Arctic and alpine species of plants in the sunflower family, known by the common names narrowleaf arnica and Arctic arnica. It is native to colder regions in Europe, Asia, and North America (northern and western Cana ...

''.Bug Guide
/ref>

References

Moths described in 1881 Agonopterix Moths of North America {{Agonopterix-stub