Species Eupithecia graefii - Hodges#7600

7600

Eupithecia graefii (Hulst, 1896)

Eucymatoge graefii Hulst 1896

Phylogenetic sequence #910439

Specific epithet in honor of Edward Louis Graef (d.1922), one of the founders of the Brooklyn Entomological Society. In his history of the society, Graef joked that a large percentage of moths named for him and his friend J.B. Smith ultimately did not survive. Smith wrote of the new genus and species Graefia smithii, "if anything will kill this genus it is the combination of names." (1) He was half right. Graefia is now a junior synonym of Animomyia but J.B. Smith lives on as Animomyia smithii.

Wingspan 25-28 mm. (2)

Fore-wing cell spot with red-orange scales, even in worn specimens, which, along with wing shape and maculation, identifies this species.

Genitalia:

♀

♂

Western North America from British Columbia south to California, eastward to Colorado and Wyoming.

Adults are mostly found in the summer months, but have been found from April until November.

Larvae feed on plants in the Ericaceae such as Arctostaphylos and Arbutus. (3)

Hulst, G.D. 1896. A classification of the Geometrina of North America, with description of new genera and species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 23: 273. (2)

Moth Photographers Group