Explanation of Names
Montana is probably where the type specimen was collected (though it could also refer to it being found in the mountains); the common name suggested above would distinguish this species from the other two Alucita species in North America, as well as the strictly Old World A. hexadactyla.
Identification
The paper by Landry and Landry (cited below) describes and illustrates this species, but only the paper's Abstract is currently available on the Internet - and it merely mentions the distribution and food plant of A. montana.
The exterior appearance of this species is assumed to be much like the description given on BugGuide's
genus page.
Range
southwestern Quebec and Vermont, west to British Columbia, south to Arizona, California, and Texas
see
genus page for distribution of the other two species of
Alucita in North America
Food
larvae are associated with snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.) in the north, and honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) in California
Remarks
The Eurasian species Alucita hexadactyla was previously thought to be the only species of Alucita in North America. Landry and Landry have since determined that A. hexadactyla does not occur in North America [see Internet References below].
See Also
Of the
three North American species, only the range of
A. montana extends to the west coast - from California to British Columbia.
Print References
Landry, Bernard and Jean-François Landry. 2004. The genus Alucita in North America, with description of two new species (Lepidoptera: Alucitidae). Can. Entomol. 136: 553- 579.
Internet References
names of 3 North American species of Alucita and statement that
A. hexadactyla does not occur in North America (Bernard and Jean-François Landry, 2004, The Canadian Entomologist)
live adult image [listed as
A. hexadactyla] plus host plant (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)
presence in California; PDF doc list and host plant (U. of California at Berkeley)
