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Photo#1773340
Eupithecia swettii? - Eupithecia

Eupithecia swettii? - Eupithecia
Mark Twain National Forest, Phelps County, Missouri, USA
April 6, 2019
Size: ~25 mm WS
Came to sheet lit by Coleman lantern at the Lane Spring Recreation Area campground. As difficult as the Eupithecia can be to ID, the distinctive colors and markings on this moth warranted some extra effort on my part. After extensive review of all BugGuide and MPG images of Eupithecia, I was finally able to narrow it down to E. swettii. This image matches up well with many of the images posted on BG, MPG and Barcode of Life of that species. The size, date and location is also a good fit. I do not often use BAMONA, but did so here and was surprised to see all of the reports of E. swettii from Missouri. A review of the description of E. swettii in Academy of Natural Science Philadelphia (1907) and American Museum Novitates (1985) also seems to fit for this moth, esp. the brownish hues and the brown second abdominal segment.

Moved
Moved from Geometrid Moths.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Caution
According to Dr. Ferris (1) Eupithecia swettii is easily confused with Eupithecia matheri so caution seems advisable.

 
Thanks George!
I was not aware of the Ferris publication. This will come in handy for future reference. Rindge also noted the two species are easily confused, but his report of distribution listed swettii in Missouri, but not matheri. The range of the two species reported by Ferris has matheri in Missouri and swettii not above the coastal states. With distribution reports not quite in agreement, it looks like I will have to settle for an either/or in this case since I am not up to the level of dissection. But I still find it a fun challenge to get as close as possible to an ID through photos and research.

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