Wedgling Moth
Wedgling Moth
Galgula partita
Insecta
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
A few weeks
Size
Small
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
North America
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Camouflage
Status
Common

About

The Wedgling Moth is a small, common noctuid moth found across North America, its forewings marked with a distinctive pale, wedge-shaped patch that gives the species its name. Its caterpillars feed on wood sorrel (Oxalis), making them frequent visitors to lawns and gardens where the plant grows.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
  2. 2.
    caterpillar
    A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
  3. 3.
    cocoon
    A silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
  4. 4.
    moth
    A winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Noctuidae
Genus
Galgula
Species
Galgula partita