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Species Pseudothyris sepulchralis - Mournful Thyris - Hodges#6077

black and white moth - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Unknown white spotted black flyer - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Mournful Thyris - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Mournful Thyris - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Mournful Thyris  ??  moth ID  - Pseudothyris sepulchralis skipper - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Pseudothyris sepulchralis Pseudothyris sepulchralis
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Thyridoidea (Window-winged Moths)
Family Thyrididae (Window-winged Moths)
Subfamily Thyridinae
Genus Pseudothyris
Species sepulchralis (Mournful Thyris - Hodges#6077)
Hodges Number
6077
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Thyris sepulchralis Guérin-Méneville, 1832
Pseudothyris sepulchralis (Guérin-Méneville, 1832) Thiele, 1986
Thyris lugubris Boisduval, 1852
Thyris margaritana (Clemens, 1862)
Size
Wingspan 15-23 mm. (1)
Identification
Adult: wings black with large median and other smaller white spots; those at margin give wings a ragged look. Hindwing has white median patch. (1)
Range
Maine to Florida, west to Texas, north to Michigan and Ontario. (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
Moth Photographers Group - large map with some distribution data.
Season
Adults appear to be most common from February to July. (1), Moth Photographers Group
Food
Larvae feed on Smilax species. (7)

Adults take nectar from flowers of herbaceous plants, and have been seen taking fluids from damp sand (guide photos and photos in Internet references).
Remarks
Conspicuous when seen flying in daytime because of bold pattern. (1) Sometimes mistaken for Butterflies.
See Also
Spotted Thyris (Thyris maculata) is smaller, and its forewing has orange shading and fewer white spots.
Print References
Covell, p. 393, plate 56 #13 (8) (1)
Thiele, J.H.R., 1986. Die Gattung Thyris Hoffmannsegg, 1803. Uber die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen fur eine Monographie (Lep., Thyridae). Atalanta (Munchen), 17: 105-146.