Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Pero meskaria (Packard, 1876)
Stenaspilates meskaria Packard, 1876
Azelina meskaria
Azelina albomacularia Hy. Edwards, 1882
Azelina arizonaria Hy. Edwards, 1882
Selidosema muricolor Hulst, 1896
Stenaspilates albidula Hulst, 1900
Explanation of Names
Named in honor of Otto von
Meske (1837-1890), who had two other Lepidoptera named after him around the same time,
Catocala meskei (Grote, 1873) and
Hesperia meskei (Edwards, 1877), as well as the genus
Meskea Grote, 1877.
Size
Powell & Opler (2009) listed the forewing length 13-16 mm.
Poole (1987) did not specify size but noted some Texas specimens half the size of those from Arizona.
Range
Powell & Opler (2009) listed the range to include southern Texas west to California
(1), east through Nevada, Utah
(2) and western Colorado
(3).
(4)Habitat
Poole (1987) reported the species inhabits drier areas of the southwestern United States.
(5)Food
Poole (1987) reported Torrie & Gray reared on
Clematis drummondii (Drummond's Clematis) in Texas
See Also
The convex lobes of the forewing's PM line distinguish meskaria from other species of Pero.
Print References
Packard, A.S. 1876. A monograph of the geometrid moths or Phalaenidae of the United States.
United States Geological Survey of the Territories 10::
213, plate
13, fig. 50.
(6)
Poole, R.W. 1987. A taxonomic revision of the New World moth genus
Pero (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). USDA Technical Bulletin 1698: 1-257 (
PDF)
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009.
Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. plate 29, fig. 14; p. 214.
(4)