Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
formerly placed in subfamily Amphipyrinae
placed in subfamily Hadeninae by Kitching and Rawlins in 1999 (no information on Tribe placement could be found on the Internet)
Numbers
one of three species in this genus in North America listed at
All-LepsSize
wingspan 20-22 mm, based on three Internet photos
Identification
Adult: forewing whitish with distinct green tint in live specimens; large dark gray irregular U-shaped patch in median area, with the ends of the "U" touching the costa; smaller dark gray patch along inner margin near anal angle; blackish basal dash usually present; outer margin with shallow notch near apex; hindwing dirty yellowish-gray with darker gray PM line
Range
southern United States (Maryland to Florida, west to California)
Season
adults fly from April to October
Remarks
Rare and local in the northern part of its range. Its larval food plant (mistletoe) is represented by two species in eastern United States: Oak Mistletoe (
Phoradendron leucarpum) which is widespread, and Mahogany Mistletoe (
P. rubrum) which is restricted to Florida. See
individual species maps at USDA.
Both mistletoe species mentioned above are threatened or endangered, which doesn't bode well for the moth.
Actually, only P. rubrum is rare in the U.S. It's range here is restricted to the southernmost counties of Florida, but it also occurs in the Caribbean. The
conservation status of P. leucarpum is G5, globally abundant.
The species is not included on the
California Moth Species List but two specimens collected in California many years ago are listed on
this page (both pages are from U. of California at Berkeley).
See Also
E. dulcinea and
E. pallida are very similar - see Jim Vargo's
MPG photos - but apparently occur only west of Texas.
Green Marvel (
Agriopodes fallax) has small black markings scattered across forewing (not a large U-shaped patch), and has several prominent black marks along outer margin
Internet References
live adult image (Darryl Searcy, Alabama)
live adult images (Renn Tumlison, Henderson State U., Arkansas)
live adult images and common name reference (Moth Photographers Group)
pinned adult image by John Glaser, plus food plant and status (Larry Line, Maryland)
pinned adult image and other info (California Dept. of Food and Agriculture)
pinned adult image and photos of related species by Jim Vargo (Moth Photographers Group)
pinned adult image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)
pinned adult images showing yellowish wings (Bruce Walsh, Moths of Southeastern Arizona)
collection dates of 2 specimens in California (U. of California at Berkeley)
presence in Florida; list (Michael Thomas, Florida State Collection of Arthropods)
classification and synonyms with links to images, references (Markku Savela, FUNET)
placement in subfamily Hadeninae (Brian Pitkin, Butterflies and Moths of the World)
Contributed by
Robin McLeod on 9 January, 2006 - 6:52pm
Additional contributions by
Mike QuinnLast updated 25 December, 2008 - 5:40pm
