Bug FAQNight-wandering and Hopeful Daggers and Allies
Acronicta noctivaga · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae
Also called: Night-wandering Dagger, Night-wandering Dagger Moth
The night-wandering dagger moth has a wingspan of about 32 mm. Adults are active from May through August, depending on where they live. Its recorded food plant is poplar.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Acronicta noctivaga, called the night-wandering dagger moth, belongs to the Noctuidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan measures roughly 32 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Recorded host plants include poplar trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from May to August, varying with location.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The flight season spans May through August, depending on the area.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is the same northeastern North American region.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 29 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Michigan, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, Maine, Mississippi, Pennsylvania.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are night-wandering dagger moths active?
Adults fly from May to August, with exact timing depending on the region.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants do the larvae feed on?
The recorded food plant for this species is poplar.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Noctuidae)
Ipsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or crops
Fall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Army Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Silver ΥAutographa gamma
American DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skinSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronicta_noctivaga
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.