Species Petrophila cappsi - Capps' Petrophila - Hodges#4772

4772

Petrophila cappsi (Lange 1956)

Parargyractis cappsi Lange 1956

Phylogenetic Sequence # 800752

FW basal and postmedian area speckled black on white; costal margin brown, especially in basal 1/3; median white line is flanked by yellow bands, the one on the basal side wider than the outer one; four yellow-orange bands in the outer FW along with two white apical and subapical wedges. HW white with a median area having a yellow band flanked outwardly by silver and outlined by dark brown; postmedian area white with a dark white-centered oval loop. Submarginal eyespots black with irridescent patches separating them from the black and orange terminal dashes. Thorax white with a dark brown central streak which may extend onto the orange and white banded abdomen.

Described from Kerr Co., TX; ranges from the Texas Hill Country up into OK.(1)(2) Munroe's recitation of AZ in the range of this species applies to a new species (P. cornvillia) described from AZ by Solis & Tuskes in 2018.(3) iNaturalist has records of P. cappsi only from Texas.

Probably forms a species group with Petrophila bifascialis, Petrophila kearfottalis, and possibly the newly described Petrophila cornvillia (Solis & Tuskes 2018)(3) based on HW patterns and certain aspects of male genitalia.

Very similar in FW pattern to Two-banded Petrophila (P. bifascialis). Distinguished from that species by the open black loop in the middle of the HW instead of a solid black spot, and usually whiter basal area of FW (variable). There is a tendency (not absolute) for Two-banded to have a more conspicuous small dark discal dot in the middle of the FW at the upper end of the orange tornal wedge (see Maury Heiman's example below); this dot is usually faint to absent on most Capps'. There are also minor differences in genitalia between the two species.(4)

Also confusable with Kearfott's Petrophila (P. kearfottalis) but in that species the yellow bands on either side of the white median line on the FW are wider and about equal width; also, in addition to the black oval loop on the HW, Kearfott's also has a thin black line capping the innermost one or two black eyespots.

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