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Photo#317452
Plusiinae larva - Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides

Plusiinae larva - Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides
Ames, Story County, Iowa, USA
May 27, 2009
Found 2 in May eating Eupatorium rugosum in a boggy area. (This plant is everywhere but I only found larvae in the boggy area.) Both larvae were parasitized before pupation, each by a different wasp species.

Found a third larva August 7, same area, same host plant, much earlier instar so have another chance to raise. And, as it turns out, another chance to rear parasitoids, another mass emergence.

M O’Connor suggests Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides, Pink-patched Looper and says “info page says it eats Thalictrum, but other posts show it eating Turtlehead and Eupatorium rugosum.”

Images of this individual: tag all
Plusiinae larva - Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides Plusiinae larva - Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides Plusiinae larva - Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides Plusiinae larva parasitized Plusiinae larva parasitoids - Copidosoma Plusiinae larva, looks like a mummy - Copidosoma Plusiinae, lots of wasps - Copidosoma Plusiinae, wasps - Copidosoma

Moved
Moved from Looper Moths.

Well maybe better luck next year.
We would still lean toward Eosphoropteryx, but that assumes your species is in the book. It does have more white than the individual imaged in the book, but otherwise the pattern is the same. It's not angular and warty like Pseudeva and doesn't have all that white on the dorsum. We think all the Rues are actually Meadow Rues, Thalictrum, so we don't think that's a problem. But, of course, it could always be a species not covered by the book....

 
That was the only year I've ever
seen them, plus I no longer live there. When I'm finding or looking at something I've never seen before it is hard to imagine I may never see it again.

Also, as to ID possibilities, I'll take your expert eyes for detail and knowledge over my guessing any day.

Wagner lists three very similar Plusiinae, page 231
in the Owlet book, but one feeds on blueberry, so we guess we're safe to exclude that. The other two are the Pink-patched Looper, Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides, and the Straight-Lined Looper, Pseudeva purpurigera. Have you seen either of the adults there? They are both Thalictrum feeders. Could it be nearby?

Not quite sure how to separate them at this time, but the reduced amount of white and the overall roundedness point toward the Pink Patched?? This looks much like the image in the book.

 
Finally, I sat down with the book.
I've got lots of photos and I don't know, the white stripes look wider and less defined and there is more white on the hind end than the pink-patched. (Ah, individual variation) I'll post a couple more photos (but I had a dirt spot on the camera.)

They were all found on Eupatorium rugosum. They were on leaves that were, in some cases, quite eaten. However, the first one started a cocoon 6 days after collection and the other one was pre-pupa in 12 days. Perhaps they never ate any of the plant I gave them in the rearing container as they both became parasitoids. But the 3rd one was collected August 7, 2009 and I didn't notice the hind end turning brown (parasitoids) until August 20. I think, maybe, I would have noticed had it not been eating the snakeroot in its container.

The area where all 3 were collected is a seep along a creek. There are some species of rue in the vicinity but no meadow rue. There is a few columbine and lots of nettles.

It's just too bad I didn't get one adult out of the three. But maybe the reason they are uncommon is because they are easily parasitized.

Moved
Moved from Straight-lined Looper.

Thanks. I'm playing it safe.

Woops
I missed the hostplant info above... I believe this makes it unlikely to be P. Purpurigera which is a specialist on meadow rue. Oh well. I'll post a pic of a P. Purpurigera that i raised out soon.
-Sam

Pseudeva ID's all based on same image +hostplants
Just following up - if you look back at the other "pseudeva" cat pic posted by Tom Murray, he sites my image at www.pbase.com/spjaffe as the ID source just as that image is what my ID on this cat is based upon. All I'm 100% sure of is that the ID of Pseudeva purpurigera for the tall meadow rue feeding cat that I raised and show on my site is correct - However, the above images are a very close match, Tom's less so... But I know nothing of earlier instars. Host plant information for the cats in these images should confirm the ID as I believe this species feeds exclusively on meadowrue.

We would say leave them all there.
Wagner is coming out with a book on the Noctuidae, and when that happens we will all know more and can decide what to do at that time. (Just got another email from MJHatfield on IPAW about Conium maculatum!!)

Strange, this doesn't look at all like
the images already posted to this species. We're guessing one of the IDs is wrong. But maybe it's just a later instar??

 
I agree
I wish Sam had photos of the adult that came from his larva.

 
I agree.
I was reluctant to move it. But I don't know proper protocol nor do I know (for actual experience) which image may be correct. What do you suggest?

Moved
Moved from Plusiinae.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Looks to be one of the loopers
in the Plusiinae, and we're pretty sure we have seen it before, but now we can't find it :(

 
Pseudeva
Looks like Pseudeva purpurigera
I raised a caterpillar out and identified the adult... otherwise, I have never seen a larval description.
http://www.pbase.com/spjaffe/image/114308347

 
3rd try
Thanks Sam. The third one I was raising was also parasitized as was a 4th unknown (to me) related/same species. I'll have to look earlier next year.

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