Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
formerly Eustroma semiatrata - see Remarks section below
Explanation of Names
SEMIATRATA: from the Latin "semi" (half) + "atra" (black); refers to the forewings, which are usually half black [and half pale gray]
Numbers
one of three species in this genus in North America (listed under Eustroma by most sources)
Identification
forewing pale gray in AM and subterminal areas, and dark gray to blackish in basal and large median area (entire wing may be dark gray with white lines in some individuals); basal, AM, and PM lines with scalloped, toothed, and or irregular "meandering" outlines; ST line white, jagged, indistinct; dark apical dash and small black patch along costa near apex usually present; black elliptical discal spot usually visible
hindwing pale gray basally, shading to darker gray distally, with faint white incomplete PM and ST lines
Specimens identified by DNA analysis:
Range
Alaska to Newfoundland, south to New York, Colorado, California
Habitat
boreal forest and forest clearings containing food plant
Season
adults fly from July to September in New York, and from April to October in British Columbia
Food
larvae feed on leaves of Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and other willow-herb (Epilobium) species
Remarks
In 1999,
Mark Parsons et al included
Antepirrhoe as a synonym of
Eustroma (in Malcolm Scoble's catalog
Geometrid Moths of the World).
In 2001, Sei-Woong Choi (see References below) reinstated Antepirrhoe as a valid genus, based on cladistic analysis of 51 morphological characters compared among 47 related species. Three species of Antepirrhoe occur in North America, whereas all Eustroma species are restricted to Eurasia.
See Also
The two other species of
Antepirrhoe have very pale whitish wings with highly contrasting dark median areas, and only occur in the far west (
compare images of all three species)
White Eulithis (
Eulithis explanata) is similar but has a prominent white ST line, and its median area is shaped differently - almost fragmented in places (
compare images of both species)
Eulithis explanata -
White Eulithis (Abdomen with pairs of dark triangles)
Print References
Choi, Sei-Woong. 2001. Phylogeny of Eulithis Hübner and Related Genera (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), with an Implication of Wing Pattern Evolution. Amer. Mus. Novitates, No. 3318: 37 pp., 24 figs., 2 pls.
Internet References
[
classification; PDF doc in the revived genus
Antepirrhoe, plus description, distribution, food plants, technical data (Sei-Woong Choi, American Museum of Natural History)
pinned adult image plus description, flight season, food plants, similar species (Jeff Miller, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands; USGS)
pinned adult images of three specimens, showing variation in color (CBIF)
common name reference (NHIC; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)
synonyms and references (Markku Savela, FUNET)
presence in California; list (U. of California at Berkeley)
distribution in North America; PDF doc plus habitat and food plant (J.D. Lafontaine and D.M. Wood, Butterflies and Moths of the Yukon)
distribution in Canada list of provinces and territories (CBIF)
