Montana Field Guide

The adult Agrochola purpurea forewing is variably light purplish-brown to reddish-orange. The forewing lines and markings are faint except for the dark sub-apical dash along the costa and the black lower half of reniform spot. The subterminal line is a series of black dots. The terminal line is either continuous and scalloped or broken into dark dots. The grayish V-shaped median line descends in the middle to the reniform spot. The AM and PM lines are brown, double, and wavy. The orbicular and reniform spots are rimmed with brown. The hindwing is pale yellowish with gray shading. The wingspan is about 36 mm.

Shropshire and Tallamy (2025) provide a list, with synonymies, of 13,055 described native, exotic, and occasional straying Lepidoptera species of North America, north of Mexico; known but undescribed taxa, taxa with unresolved taxonomy, and excluded species are also included. The main manuscript includes links to supplementary materials, including a reference list for Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, and a filterable spreadsheet with information on taxonomy, synonymy, size ranges of species, distribution by state, province, and country with references, and host-plant Family and Genus associations with references.

Adults fly in fall and early winter.

Agrochola purpurea occurs in dry western forests.

Shropshire and Tallamy (2025) provide a link to a supplemental filterable spreadsheet with information on host-plant Family and Genus associations with references for all Lepidoptera species of North America, north of Mexico.

Agrochola purpurea larvae feed on leaves of lupine (Lupinus spp.).