Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Retarded Dagger Moth (Acronicta retardata) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas, north to Manitoba.wingspan is 25 32 mm. Adults are on wing from April to August depending on the location. There are multiple generations per year. The larvae feed on the leaves of red maple and sugar maple.A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth (about ten times the number of species of butterfly), with thousands of species yet to be described.