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Photo#1396657
Moth - Eupithecia

Moth - Eupithecia
Bluewater Lake St Pk, Cibola County, New Mexico, USA
May 20, 2017

Moved
Moved from Eupithecia edna.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

 
Eupithecia owenata?
USNM ENT 00907153 (BOLD Sample CCDB-20824-G08) from 50 miles west, is very similar. It is one of just two specimens in BIN BOLD:AAJ0123. The other, CNCLEP00034097 matches MPG spread images. It's the only barcoded specimen with a medial band having deeply jagged inner margin. I think the specimens in BOLD:AAJ0123 are correctly identified.

The BIN for edna would appear to be BOLD:AAJ0124 which contains some specimens apparently misidentified as owenata. (A third BIN with owenata, BOLD:ACT0681, looks like a cryptic species with no close relatives.)

If this is owenata, then photo seems far from conclusive and examination is needed.

 
OK
I have been putting off the urge to create non-taxon pages for the many confusing species pairs or groups in this genus/tribe.
This might be a case where such a page is badly-needed, since these two species are so similar looking, without a microscope.
I'm no longer confident that I could tell them apart and until then, images will continue piling up at the genus level.

 
- -
My rule of thumb has become a move target over the years. I can tell you that currently, I don't like tentative IDs which alter a species range. But I'm perfectly fine if it reasonably exemplifies a species and it's within the known range.

I'm making no suggestions for the species mentioned here. These are just general comments.

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