Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

17 June 2003   11:52PM EST  (top left)
1 July 2005   11:32PM EST  (top right)
14 June 2005   11:01PM EST  (bottom left)
22 June 2003   8:51PM EST  (bottom right)

Agriopodes fallax, also known as the Green Marvel, is one of several soft green noctuids with black markings, that may appear superficially similar to the casual observer, to whom a fleeting glimpse might suggest Feralia comstocki (Hodges 10008) in the Cuculliinae subfamily of noctuids, for example, mainly on the basis of its color.  A closer look, however, quickly reveals that Agriopodes fallax is quite unlike any of our other green noctuids.

The forewing of Agriopodes fallax is pale green with a slight bluish tinge in fresh specimens, tending to yellow slightly with age.  The black markings are somewhat variable in shape, but invariably crisp and clear, sometimes accentuated by adjacent white shading.  The usual lines are indicated by broken fragments of black.  There is a series of black bars at the costa, some of which likely mark the ends of basal, antemedial and postmedial lines.  Regardless of the details of the pattern on the main part of the wing, it is usually characterized by a larger angled black shape in the vicinity of the antemedial line, a roughly triangular black shape pointing inward from the postmedial line near the inner margin, and a squarish black shape located approximately between the expected locations of the orbicular and reniform spots.  The reniform spot is marked only by a faint black crescent preceding a small inward point from the postmedial "line" about a third of the way down the wing.  The green fringe is streaked with black, occasionally associated with a larger black spot or streak just inside the outer margin.  The head and thorax are also pale green, with some black markings on the thorax.  A pale green scale tuft protrudes between the wings just past the posterior end of the thorax.  The hindwing is whitish, with faint gray markings.  Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan from 3.1 to 3.6 cm for this species.

According to Handfield (1999), the principal host plant for Agriopodes fallax is viburnum. He indicates two generations per year for my general area, with adult flight seasons from the second week of June to just after mid-July, and from late July into the second week of August.

My records to date for Agriopodes fallax (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: