Species Phyllodesma americana - Lappet Moth - Hodges#7687

7687

American Lappet Moth

Fill o desma - contributed by Tony Thomas

Is it pronounced fill-OH-dez-ma or fill-oh-DEZ-ma? (I once thought the flower fly Eristalis was pronounced air-iss-TAL-iss until I heard it pronounced ih-RISS-tah-liss by an entomologist) -contributed by Robin McLeod

PHYLLODESMA: from the Greek "phyllon" (a leaf) + "desma" (a band); refers to the leaf-mimicing shape of the wings, and perhaps the pale bands on the forewing and hindwing

one of three species in this genus in North America listed at All-Leps

rare to locally common

wingspan 29 to 49 mm (1)

Adult: scalloped outer margins of wings with white in the scallops. Resting posture with forewings held tent-like over abdomen, and hindwings sticking out horizontally is characteristic. Forewing color varies from bluish-gray to reddish to yellowish-brown; markings white and violet; anal angle with deep notch. When sitting on dead leaves, it is well camouflaged.

Larva: body with blue, black/gray, white, and orange on the back, and densely hairy lobes (lappets) along sides; top of eighth abdominal segment with unpaired hump; when stretched out or alarmed, exposes bright orange band across top of second and third thoracic segments

Nova Scotia to Georgia, west through Texas to California, north to BC and Yukon

Flight season March to September in two broods in the south; April to August in Ohio; May to July in eastern Ontario

larva present June to August

Caterpillars feed on leaves of alder, birch, oak, poplar, willow, snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus), chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla), and members of the rose family; larvae rest longitudinally along a twig during the day, and feed at night

two generations per year in the south, one in the north; overwinters as a pupa

Covell reports it as rare to locally common; seen each year in Fredericton, NB; frequents city gardens among other places.

The Southern Lappet Moth (P. occidentis) forewing has white reniform spot, and ranges from coastal South Carolina to Florida, west to Kentucky and Texas (see link to image on this page)

P. coturnix forewing has bluish-gray shading in subterminal area, and occurs in California.

Covell, p54 (1)

live larva image by Jeff Fengler, plus description and season (Caterpillars of Eastern Forests; USGS)

live larva and adult images plus description and habits (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)

live larva and adult images plus common name reference [Lappet Moth] (John Himmelman, Connecticut)

live adult images and dates (Lynn Scott, Ontario)

pinned adult image by Jeff Miller, plus description, flight season, and foodplants (Macromoths of Northwest Forests; USGS)

pinned adult image (CBIF)

104 pinned adult images and collection site map (All-Leps)

pinned adult image (Bruce Walsh, Moths of southeastern Arizona)

presence in California (California Moth Species List, U. of California at Berkeley)

common name reference [American Lappet Moth] plus foodplants and flight season (Ohio State U.)