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Photo#1049866
Spring Cankerworm Moth - Paleacrita vernata - female
Copyright © 2015 Bill Keim

Spring Cankerworm Moth - Paleacrita vernata - Female
Longwood Gardens, Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA
March 11, 2015
I believe this is a female Phigalia or Paleacrita.
Found on a metal post under Gleditsia triacanthos.

Images of this individual: tag all
Spring Cankerworm Moth - Paleacrita vernata - female Spring Cankerworm Moth - Paleacrita vernata - female
Contributed by Bill Keim on 26 March, 2015 - 5:17am
Last updated 29 March, 2015 - 9:43am

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
Thanks Doug!
… Bill Keim, 29 March, 2015 - 9:43am

Paleacrita vernata by Rindge's keys
These photos are detailed enough to use with the keys in Rindge's Bistonini revision(1), leading to an ID of female Spring Cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata).

Some important points in the path through the keys:

The noticeably larger spines on the top of the second and third abdominal segments serve to narrow the genus to Paleacrita, and exclude Phigalia.

Then the high-contrast, black-and-white patterning on the tarsal segments leads to P. vernata, instead of the less-contrastingly patterned P. merriccata.
… Doug Bruce, 28 March, 2015 - 8:52pm

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