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Photo#356520
ID Help: Black & White Moth, Orange Forelegs - Hemileuca grotei - female

ID Help: Black & White Moth, Orange Forelegs - Hemileuca grotei - Female
Copperas Cove, Coryell County, Texas, USA
November 28, 2009
Size: 5cm
My 7 y/o daughter found this moth this past Thanksgiving, under a Live Oak Tree. The photo doesn't show the pair of reddish orange forelegs, and the flash scared it into flight before I could get a sideview.
Any ideas (or ID's)?

Ah! Now that you are all experts on Hemileuca,
how about the page and a half of images stuck at the genus level. Can we get any of those to species. Click on Hemileuca above this image and then click on Images. Thanks!

Moved
Per Michael D Van Buskirk: This is a nice female of Hemileuca grotei, and there is no doubt as to the identity. Markings are characteristic of the species.

Based on this image here on b
Based on this image here on bugguide
  • http://bugguide.net/node/view/243051/bgimage
  • and the range, time of year, etc., I'm now pretty certain this is a female Grote's Buck Moth (Hemileuca grotei). Thanks for all your help.

    Hemileuca
    If this is H. maia it would be the "subspecies" (it may in fact be a full species) H. (maia?) peigleri, the nominate form is only found in extreme western TX, while H. peigleri is found in central TX. But this may be H. grotei. H. peigleri is almost transparent, but if this is a recently emerged individual, the scales may have not had a chance to fall off, meaning it could still be H. peigleri. The size (5cm) if correct, is a closer match to the size of a H. grotei female, this is a female, and H. peigleri are approx. 20% larger than H. grotei, meaning this could be too small to be a female H. peigleri.

    I can't be 100% sure either way, perhaps someone else with more experience with these species' could help out. I am personally leaning more towards H. grotei based on size and the broken white bands, both characters of H. grotei.

     
    The wings didn't look anywher
    The wings didn't look anywhere near transparent; in fact, the macro flash seems to have washed out what appeared to the eye as dark black coloration.
    Coryell County is in central Texas, about 70mi NNW of Austin.
    I noticed on ButterfliesandMoths that while H. peigleri and H. grotei are native to the area, H. maia is not.

     
    Right
    H. maia is only found in extreme eastern TX, but some consider H. peigleri to be a subspecies of H. maia, which would mean that technically a form of H. maia is found in central TX. Right now, most resources that I use (including BugGuide) elevate H. peigleri to a full species status though.

    I am still leaning much more towards H. grotei for this one, I'd like some confirmation from an expert before this gets moved to either species' page.

     
    not nearly an expert,
    but I would say this is H. grotei as well.

    my vote is for
    H maia
    stonei is not in texas according to WLSS, and the discription of grotei and pictures arent a match..also maia flies later into the year, which fits with this moth and disctiption, and pictures are a better match.

    Now I'm wondering whether it'
    Now I'm wondering whether it's H. maia, H. grotei, or H. stonei. How to tell?

    One of the Hemileuca
    See

     
    Thanks for the genus ID!
    Now I'm wondering whether it's H. maia, H. grotei, or H. stonei. How to tell?

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