American Dagger
Acronicta americana
Despite its bright, dense covering of bristles, the caterpillar lacks true stinging spines; its hairs instead cause mechanical and chemical irritation via hollow shafts linked to poison glands.
- Scientific name
- Acronicta americana
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Noctuidae › Acronicta
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous and mixed woodlands, suburban parks, and residential tree lines.
- Diet
- Larvae eat foliage of deciduous trees including maple, oak, willow, birch, and alder; adults consume flower nectar and tree sap.
- Range
- Canada, United States
- Size
- 50–65 mm wingspan; caterpillars reach up to 50 mm in length
- Lifespan
- 8–12 months
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Broadscale pesticide spraying, forest fragmentation, and severe habitat loss.
- Safe to approach?
- Adult moths are harmless, but the caterpillars possess urticating hairs that break off in human skin and cause allergic dermatitis, itching, burning, and hives. Do not handle the hairy caterpillars. If contact occurs, strip remaining hairs from the skin using adhesive tape, wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water, and apply an ice pack or topical hydrocortisone.
Acronicta americana , the American dagger moth , is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was originally described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1841 and is native to North America.
Photo: ozmetarium, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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