Other Common Names
Crocus Geometer (X. sospeta)
False Crocus Geometer (X. urticaria)
Buttercup Moth (X. urticaria)
Rufous Geometer (X. rufaria)
Pronunciation
"Zan-tho-tippy" [PC]
Where is the accent placed? Is it "zan-THO-tip-ee" or "zan-tho-TIP-ee"? [RM]
Explanation of Names
Author of genus is Warren, 1894. Xantho is from a Greek word for yellow. (Based on Internet searches.)
I'm unclear of the meaning of the suffix "type".
Numbers
5 species in North America listed at
All-Leps and
nearctica.com.
Size
Wingspan approximately 30-50 mm (varies by species)
Identification
Adults: large, yellow, with reddish/purple dots. Species identification not possible with certainty, except by genitalic examination. Covell
(1) states that
X. urticaria has heavier spotting than
X. sospeta; Rindge states that adults of all species in this genus are, for practical purposes, externally indistinguishable from one another (see Remarks section below).
Larvae: greenish-brown twig mimics, resting with body fully extended, like twigs on a branch
Range
Represented throughout United States and southern Canada.
False Crocus Geometer (X. urticaria) [Hodges # 6740], and Crocus Geometer (X. sospeta) [Hodges # 6743], are widespread in east, sospeta ranging farther south than urticaria.
Rufous geometer (X. rufaria) [Hodges # 6742], is found in the southeastern states.
In the east, urticaria occurs throughout Virginia, and further north, and then follows the mountains through NC, SC, to GA; also occurs west through Oklahoma to Arizona.
In the east,
sospeta occurs throughout Pennsylvania, and further north, and then follows the mountains south to GA. Also recorded from
Florida, and in the west to Colorado and Montana.
In Canada, X. sospeta and X. urticaria occur from Nova Scotia to Alberta, with X. sospeta also occurring in British Columbia.
X. rufaria is a southern species; it gets as far north as coastal NC and then follows the coast to Florida and Mississippi. The dot on his map in the mountains of NC seems odd compared with the other dots for this species. It is a specimen from Stone Mountain State Park, Wilkes and Allegheny counties.
In the east, attenuaria gets as far north as coastal NC and extends across Georgia (Atlanta) to eastern Texas.
X. barnesi is found only in northern California. (Rindge 1978)
Habitat
Mixed and deciduous forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light, but are also active during the day and are easily flushed from shrubs in the forest understory.
Season
Adults fly from April to November in the south; June to August in Quebec; June and July in Alberta.
Food
Larvae feed on a variety of trees, shrubs, forbs. Handfield lists 20 genera of plants for X. sospeta; 11 for X. urticaria, with 7 genera shared by both.
Remarks
Rindge (1978) examined 1,886 specimens (1441 males, 445 females) and made 261 genitalic dissections. He stated: "No one has found a reliable way to recognize the species as yet except by genitalia. The adults of all species in this genus are, for practical purposes, externally indistinguishable from one another, as they are almost identical in color, maculation, and size."
As an example of variation within and between 2 eastern species, see
pinned adult images of three
X. sospeta and three
X. urticaria specimens at CBIF.
Print References
Covell, p. 363, plate 51--ill.
X. urticaria, X. sospeta (1)
Salsbury, p. 317--photo
X. urticaria (2)
Himmelman, plate B-7--photo
X. urticaria (3)
Rindge, F.H. 1978. A Revision of the Moth Genus Xanthotype (Lepidoptera, Geometridae). American Museum Novitates, #2659, pp.1-24, 43 figs, 3 maps.
Handfield, Louis. 1999. Les Guides des Papillons du Quebec. Broquet. 662 pp. [text on p. 208; plate 32 shows male and female X. sospeta and X. urticaria]
Internet References
North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists
X rufaria (4 specimens),
X. sospeta (13 specimens) for that state.
X. urticaria is not listed.
adult images of
X. rufaria and
X. urticaria (Larry Line, Maryland)
2 pinned adult images of
attenuaria, 3 pinned adult images of
rufaria, 4 pinned adult images of
sospeta, and 8 pinned adult images of
urticaria, plus collection site maps for each species (All-Leps)
distribution of X. urticaria plus habitat, flight season, description, habits, foodplants (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
presence in Oklahoma, Colorado, Montana search on genus "Xanthotype" (Lepidopterists Society Season Summary, U. of Florida)
distribution in Canada of
X. sospeta; urticaria; list of provinces (CBIF)
