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Photo#1741537
Protoboarmia porcelaria - male

Protoboarmia porcelaria - Male
Block Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA
August 9, 2019

Male
I set the gender on these, but you don't really need my help with that. Correct?
Why didn't you set them? Are you only finding males? (...coming to the lights)

 
Male…
I mostly don’t bother selecting sex for species in which the only sexual dimorphism is in the antennae, mostly because I don’t take the time to investigate the differences to make sure I’m correct in my determinations in each species. In many macros, the difference is of course quite obvious once noticed, though even then antennae are often well hidden as here. (This also means I have no notes on which sexes I see at lights; I have enough work on my hands recording numbers each night.) The main exceptions are cecropia and polyphemus, in which the dimorphism is more famous and always clearly visible. I also set sex for the Macrochilo orciferalis I posted this year. I do select sex for tortricids with costal folds and for species (Lascoria, Automeris, etc.) with obvious pattern differences.

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