Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
spelled "Melanochroia chephise" on a number of web sites; a misspelling?
Size
wingspan: 33mm based on Moth Photographs group photo
Identification
The adult's white-tipped black wings are distinctive.
Range
Florida and Texas, south to Paraguay.
Has strayed to Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Illinois, primarily in 2007 which was a phenominal year for the moth. (Several of these are new state records.)
Habitat
Reaches its greatest abundance along the coastal plains of Texas and Florida.
Season
Primarily from September through December
Food
larvae feed on plants in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) such as Breynia and Phyllanthus species
Internet References
TexasEnto.Net - Mike Quinn
Moth Photographersa Group - species page with photographs of larva, living and pinned adults
pinned adult image and other info (Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles)
live adult images (North American Butterfly Association)
