Washed-out zale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Washed-out zale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Zale
Species:	Z. metatoides
Binomial name
Zale metatoides McDunnough, 1943

Zale metatoides, the washed-out zale or jack pine false looper, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by James Halliday McDunnough in 1943. It is found in barrens and pine woodlands from at least Wisconsin and probably Manitoba to Maine, south to the mountains of Georgia. The range in the Gulf States is not certain.

The wingspan is about 35 mm. There is one generation per year.

The larvae feed on various hard pines, including jack pine, pitch pine and red pine. They prefer young pine needles. The larvae are usually orange brown, brown or gray but more greenish forms occasionally occur.