Corresponding author: Eric H. Metzler (
Academic editor: C. Schmidt
The species of the genus
Genitalia were examined following procedures outlined in
Wing pattern terminology is from
Specimens of
1 | Forewing solidly suffused with ash black, reniform and orbicular spots pale filled or obscure; postmedial line deeply zigzagged and without a pale area along distal margin |
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– | Forewing not solidly suffused with ash black, but if mainly black, then with pale whitish-gray band by subterminal line; reniform and orbicular spots outlined in white in most species, but represented by diffuse pale patches in two species, postmedial line straight or sinuate, with pale band along distal side in most species | 2 |
2 | Forewing color solidly red brown with purple tint (burgundy) |
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– | Forewing color not burgundy | 3 |
3 | Forewing pale or dark clay-colored gray, medial area, particularly near postmedial line, darker than subterminal area; reniform spot distinctly lighter than medial area around it |
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– | Forewing not pale or dark clay-colored gray, reniform spot not distinctly lighter than medial area around it | 4 |
4 | Forewing with postmedial line slightly sinuous, at 90° angle to posterior margin, curved outward to distal end of reniform, then broadly curved around reniform, turning basad towards costa | 5 |
– | Forewing with postmedial line nearly straight from posterior margin to just before costa, not forming 90° angle at posterior margin | 7 |
5 | Larger (forewing length 11.0–13.5 mm) | 6 |
– | Smaller (forewing length 9.0–10.5 mm) |
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6 | Forewing with subterminal area lighter than medial and terminal areas; postmedial area usually shaded with pink (specimens from southern Arizona with less pink); hind wing of both sexes solidly dark brown |
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– | Forewing with subterminal area barely lighter than medial and terminal areas; hind wing of male white; hind wing of female pale at base, darker towards outer margin |
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7 | Costa of forewing with a small streak of white scales extending from just before apex to just below inward angle of postmedial line; valve of male genitalia with cucullar region ovate, capitate; ostium of female genitalia flaring, opening larger than caudal part of ductus bursae |
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– | Costa of forewing without a small streak of white scales in apical area; valve of male genitalia with cucullar region more linear, not ovate; ostium of female genitalia not flaring, opening not significantly larger than caudal part of ductus bursae |
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In North America north of Mexico, the species of
The second group contains two species
The third group contains the single species
Forewing is light fuscous brown, and the subterminal region (between the postmedial and subterminal lines) is suffused with a pinkish tinge. Medial and basal areas are minutely speckled with white. Antemedial line is an obscure, scalloped white line. Reniform and orbicular spots are obscure but often discernible by fine white outlines. Claviform spot is absent. Postmedial line is a white, almost straight, oblique line with a slight basally directed bend at CU2. Subterminal line is marked primarily as a brown shade terminating the pink suffusion of the subterminal region. Hind wing is suffused with brown. Males and females are similar in appearance, although the female hind wing usually is darker. Forewing length: 9.5–14.5 mm. This appears to be the only species in the genus with a clasper near the junction of the saccular and cucullar regions of the valve.
The larva of
This moth is easy to identify because of the pink in the subterminal area of the forewing. The adults are generally common and occur from May to September in the north, to as early as April and as late as October, in Texas and Florida. The saturation of pink in the postmedial area is reduced in specimens from southern Arizona. The pink postmedial area in some individuals is wider. Varying portions of the basal area of some specimens is replaced with pink.
Adults of
Cucullar part of the valve is ovate, elongate, and the outer margin is unmodified. Vesica loop varies from 180° to 360°. Vesica has a prominent curved diverticulum. Female genitalia are almost entirely membranous. Corpus bursae is elongate with a conspicuous signum that is concave and imbedded with minute denticles.
This species is known only from southern Arizona, although its distribution likely extends into Mexico. The larva and its food plants are unknown. Adults were collected in July, August, and September.
The best superficial character to separate
In the male genitalia the apex of the cucullar region of the valve is ovate-capitate in
The best character to separate
The genital differences between
The scientific name
Females of
This species is placed in the genus
This species is known from western Texas and Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Eddy County, New Mexico (
Distribution of new species of
The forewing of
The male genitalia are distinctive. The cucullar part of the valve is triangular, not ovate, and there is a series of small knobs along the outer margin. Aedeagus is long, narrow, and slightly sinuous. Vesica is narrow with a tight basal loop followed by a straight region containing a double row of short, stubby spines, not found in the other North American species of
In the US, this species is only known from central and southeastern Texas. The distribution of
The Lectotype designated here is the specimen illustrated as type female on plate IX, fig. 15 in
The shape of the valve and the knob-like projections on the valve can be seen by brushing a few scales from the protruding genitalia of male specimens.
The CNC specimen from Florida reported as
The scientific name
This new species is placed in the genus
The hair-like projections on the posterior margin of the lamella postvaginalis and the pointed ends of the spicules are very small. They can be seen with a compound microscope at 60 × or greater magnification. The number of hair-like projections and the number of pointed ends which are visible increases as magnification increases.
This species was misidentified as
This species is recorded from Florida, southern Mississippi, and southern Louisiana (
The scientific name
This new species is placed in the genus
This species is recorded from Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties in southeastern Arizona (
In preparation of this document, we examined the types of all species of
The coordinates for latitude and longitude are reported exactly as they are on the specimens. These data are easily converted to any other format by using one of many conversion sites on the World Wide Web, such as
The specimens from Carlsbad Caverns National Park were collected during a ten-year study of the moths in the Park. This is the fifth in a series of papers (
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