Corresponding authors: Eric H. Metzler (
Academic editor: D. Lafontaine
Adult moths were collected in U.S.D.A. type black-light traps and at black light and sheet as described in
Genitalia were examined following procedures outlined in
The aedeagus of species of
Wing pattern terminology came from (
Specimens of
American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York
Natural History Museum, London, England
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Eric H. Metzler, Alamogordo, New Mexico, for subsequent transfer to MSU
J. Bolling Sullivan, Beaufort, North Carolina
J. Bruce Walsh, Tucson, Arizona
Albert J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Edward C. Knudson, Texas Lepidoptera Survey, Houston, Texas
McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
United States Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) Washington, DC
1 | Forewing gray and/or blue gray, sides of uncus convex, evenly curved ( |
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– | Forewing brown or gray, sides of uncus flared outward ( |
2 |
2 | Forewing brown gray ( |
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– | Forewing gray brown ( |
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In south central Texas, larvae of the genus
We examined the illustration of the type and the male and female genitalia of
We examined the illustration of the type of
The adult and genitalia of
Overall color light gray blue to gray with obscure transverse forewing markings, sometimes showing slight brownish shadings over reniform spot and in postmedial and subterminal areas. Males and females similar in appearance; male antenna narrowly bipectinate in basal ¾, with dense setae on ventral surface. Female antenna filiform for entire length, with sparse setae. Apex of forewing marked with a diagonal white and dark shade. Forewing length in males 12–15 mm (mean = 14 mm, n = 72), and in females 13–16 mm (mean = 14 mm, n = 25). Male genitalia (
Holotype male: “USA: NM: Eddy Co. Carlsbad Caverns N[ational] P[ark], riparian habitat, 32°06.566' N 104°28.257' W, 29 August 2006, Eric H. Metzler, CCNP4, uv trp Accsn #: CAVE - 02263", “HOLOTYPE USNM
CAVE is the acronym, used by the U.S. National Park Service, for Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The specific name of this species,
Adult male (
Adult female (
Overall color dark gray brown with obscure transverse forewing markings. Males and females similar in appearance. Male antenna narrowly bipectinate in basal ¾, with dense setae on ventral surface. Female antenna filiform for entire length, with sparse setae. Apex of forewing with a diagonal white mark. Reniform spot outlined with pale-orange scales, not contrasting. Forewing length in males 17.0–18.0 mm (mean = 17.2 mm, n = 5), and in females 18.0–20.0 mm (mean = 19.3 mm, n = 7). Male genitalia distinguished by uncus with abruptly widening sides, like a manta ray, and robust saccular area (Barth’s Organ). Female genitalia with membranous papilla anales that are partially hidden from view. Ductus bursae broad and short, dorso-ventrally compressed; corpus bursae round in profile, with a single shark tooth shaped signum, also with a heavily-sclerotized, perpendicular, thumb-like projection ventrally and a sclerotized finger-like pocket appressed to corpus bursae dorsally.
Holotype male: “Hidalgo Co. Texas 31-X-83 Santa Ana Refuge leg. E.C. Knudson” “HOLOTYPE USNM
The name of this subspecies,
Adult male (
Adult female (
We make this a subspecies of
In the U.S.,
For all characters, except those we noted in the key and diagnoses, the species are closely similar in appearance.
The details of the shape of the costulae, in combination with the color and size of the adults, is important in defining the species. The costulae can be slightly variable within a species, thus all the characters should be consulted in making an identification.
The female genitalia of
The specimens from Carlsbad Caverns National Park were collected by Metzler as part of a 10-year study of the
The National Parks Foundation, Washington, DC, the Adopt-A-Bat program, administered by the Carlsbad Caverns-Guadalupe Mountain Association, Carlsbad, NM, and the Chihuahuan Desert Conservation Alliance, Carlsbad, NM all contributed travel funding for the study of Lepidoptera at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We are grateful for their financial support. Renée West, Supervisory Biologist, Carlsbad Caverns National Park was especially helpful with logistics. Several persons made specimens or photographs or data available for study from their institutions or personal collections; James K. Adams, Don C. Arnold, Val Bugh, Charles V. Covell, Jr., Mark Dreiling, John F. Fisher, E. Richard Hoebeke, Alan Jenkins, Hugo L. Kons, Jr., Jon A. Lewis, James K. Liebherr, John M. Nelson, John D. Oswald, Michael G. Pogue, Suzanne Rab Green, John E. Rawlins, Edward G. Riley, J. Bolling Sullivan, David L. Wagner, Andrew D. Warren, and Catherine Weisel. Philip D. Perkins, MCZ, made the type of