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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Window-winged Moths (Thyridoidea) » Window-winged Moths (Thyrididae) » Thyridinae » Pseudothyris » Mournful Thyris - Hodges#6077 (Pseudothyris sepulchralis)

Species Pseudothyris sepulchralis - Mournful Thyris - Hodges#6077

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Mournful Thyris - Hodges#6077 - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Unknown black and white spotted moth - Pseudothyris sepulchralis speckled moth - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Mournful Thyris - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Mournful Thyris - Pseudothyris sepulchralis Black and off white - Pseudothyris sepulchralis black moth with white speckles - Pseudothyris sepulchralis 25May2017.UF.HN.lep1 - 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.
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (9)
The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (10)
distribution and pinned and live adult images by James Adams and Randy Emmitt respectively (Dalton State College, Georgia)
live adult image and date (Dale Clark, Texas)
presence in Ontario; list (NHIC; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Works Cited
1.Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America
Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.
2.Oklahoma moth species list by county (PDF)
3.Moths of Brackenridge Field Laboratory University of Texas at Austin
4.Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Florida
5.South Carolina Moth Species
6.Moths of Dallas County, Texas
7.Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas: Lepidoptera of Florida
J.B. Heppner. 2003. Florida Department of Agriculture 17(1): 1-670.
8.Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths
Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.
9.North American Moth Photographers Group
10.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by tom murray on 11 June, 2005 - 6:21pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Steve Nanz, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Maury Heiman, David Ferguson, Robert Lord Zimlich, marcie oconnor, Randy Hardy, George Smiley
Last updated 21 July, 2022 - 2:03am

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