Phigalia

As usual these first few months of the year, we see an increase in photos of Phigalia specimens. With this year's annual influx of Phigalia, it brought to my attention the species pages we have for the genus: namely species denticulata, strigataria and titea.

In short, the Phigalia are a bit of a mess regarding the two species, denticulata and strigataria. There are some of each on the wrong pages, and a couple of stray titea; a few of these errors are recent moves, others that have been there for a while. I've had a little correspondence with a couple of experts that know Bistonini well, and while they don't want to get in the middle of an ID argument, they're seeing the exact same misidentifications I see in the "iffy" ones I've asked them to look at.

I wouldn't mind at all moving those that are ID'd incorrectly, but I sympathize with my colleagues in that I don't want to get in the middle of an ID debate, hurt any feelings, or have to explain every move, or why so-and-so's "confirmed" ID is being overturned. To complicate it further, there are certainly specimens that straddle the fence between denticulata and strigataria, where absent info such as size, a "best guess" is the strongest ID possible.

But if a consensus is happy with me sorting these out (including changing some recent incorrect moves), I'll be more than happy to do so. If it's better to let sleeping dogs lie, that's fine too. Either way, a lot of the Phigalia specimens might fair better with an expert confirmation or at least a consensus of ID from several moth specialists rather than being moved on a single opinion.

Thoughts?

Contributed by Jason D. Roberts on 30 March, 2014 - 4:03pm
Last updated 7 April, 2014 - 10:53pm

Also ...

I should note also to qualify what I'm saying (as opposed to just an "I think" soliloquy), that the primary characteristic I use, and have had more or less confirmed (via experts and examinations of genetically identified specimens) is the following:

On those specimens for which an ID is not obvious (i.e., pale/worn denticulata may look like a strigataria, and a strongly marked strigataria (PM line may be more denticulate) may look like a denticulata, the key is in the marking along the M1 vein. In denticulata, a very distinct dark “tooth” is located on the M1 vein where it comes off of the discal cell. (This is seen as the “3rd tooth” from the costa, evenly spaced along the PM line of denticulata. In strigataria, this marking is either absent (giving the appearance of a gap between two pairs of “teeth”) or greatly reduced to only being a diffuse black spot.

The other characteristics, such as size, color/hue, degree of mottling, etc., are all useful, but if in question, the M1 vein marking has remained consistent in all specimens I’ve examined, and seems to be consistent acknowledged among the specialists with which I have corresponded.

If this info proves incorrect for IDing these two, I will immediately concede to better evidence, but so far, myself and two others far more experienced with Bistonini than I, have found this a reliable, albeit not always immediately discernable, characteristic.

… Jason D. Roberts, 30 March, 2014 - 4:07pm

We would support moving the images you feel misplaced

to what you see as the correct location. Leaving them in the wrong place just encourages others to misplace more images. But please add some images on the info pages explaining your ID criteria. Moving some may cause some outcry, but our experience is that it is usually short-lived and all of us benefit from getting the images straightened out. Don't know how long you need to wait for responses before actually moving the images, but thank you for taking this on.

… john and jane balaban, 30 March, 2014 - 9:21pm

Phigalia

As someone who has a couple of Phigalia images in the guide, I'd heartily welcome correction of the IDs (if they need to be corrected). I'd also be happy to see some images showing the M1 marking difference on the guide pages, because that would help me visualize the proper distinction between Toothed and Small Phigalias.

… Jennifer W. Hanson, 1 April, 2014 - 5:20pm

Image

I added an image to illustrate the characteristic I'm speaking of. Hopefully it helps in understanding what to look for. It's looking to be likely diagnostic, however, there are still specimens - notably melanistic/dark specimens and particularly worn or lightly marked specimens - where even this characteristic is ambiguous enough to cause reservation on any solid ID.

… Jason D. Roberts, 11 April, 2014 - 1:26am

Thanks Jason, great addtion to the guide.

This will be a big help when sorting out these two species. I'd recommend adding it to the info page for both species so that beginners are more likely to find it.

… Jack Foreman, 21 May, 2014 - 11:05am

Thanks! This is very helpful.

… Jennifer W. Hanson, 12 April, 2014 - 6:30am

Will do

Once I get some spare time, I'll put together a visual showing the different PM line markings on vein M1.

… Jason D. Roberts, 7 April, 2014 - 10:52pm

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