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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Euteliidae » Euteliinae » Marathyssa » Light Marathyssa - Hodges#8956 (Marathyssa basalis)

Species Marathyssa basalis - Light Marathyssa - Hodges#8956

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Light Marathyssa - Marathyssa basalis Light Marathyssa Moth - Marathyssa basalis Light Marathyssa caterpillar - Marathyssa basalis Unknown Lineodes - Marathyssa basalis - male Marathyssa basalis Light Marathyssa Moth - Marathyssa basalis Marathyssa basalis - Marathyssa basalis light marathyssa - Marathyssa basalis Marathyssa basalis
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 Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Euteliidae
Subfamily Euteliinae
Genus Marathyssa
Species basalis (Light Marathyssa - Hodges#8956)
Hodges Number
8956
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Marathyssa basalis Walker, 1865 (1)
Phylogenetic sequence # 931104
Numbers
Marathyssa includes three species in America north of Mexico. (2)
Size
Wingspan 25-32 mm. (3)
Identification
Adult: male antennae bipectinate, broad; forewing pale yellowish-brown, usually folded in pleats when at rest, hiding much of the color and pattern, but dark brown patch in AM area at inner margin often visible; PM line meets inner margin at oblique angle; forewing lacks reddish patch along costa near apex (present in M. inficita); hindwing has white line intruding into subterminal area from outer margin; dorsal surface of abdomen with two white longitudinal lines and raised dorsal tufts; abdomen curled up in C shape when at rest.
Range
Ontario to Nova Scotia, south to Florida, west to Texas. (4)
Season
Adults are most common from March to August. (5)
Food
larvae feed on poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) Illinois Wildflowers
Life Cycle
1.larva 2.larva 3.pupa 4.adult

PDF of life cycle by MJ Hatfield
See Also
Dark Marathyssa (M. inficita) lacks dorsal tufts on abdomen, Forbes (1954) (6). Forewing generally grayer and darker, with reddish patch along costa near apex (see photos), lacks dark brown patch in AM area at inner margin, hindwing lacks white line in subterminal area, and male antennae are serrate, not bipectinate (compare images of both species at CBIF)
Print References
Walker, 1865: 1034 (1)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (5)
live adult images (Dean Edwards, Tennessee)
live adult images plus flight season and larval foodplant (Lynn Scott, Ontario)
adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)
pinned adult image [James Adams] and live adult image [Hugh McGuinness] (courtesy Dalton State College, Georgia)
pinned adult image (CBIF)
distribution (NatureServe Explorer)
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (7)
Works Cited
1.List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum
F. Walker. 1865. Vol 33-34.
2.Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico.
Donald J. Lafontaine, B. Christian Schmidt. 2010. ZooKeys 40: 1–239 .
3.Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America
Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.
4.Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas: Lepidoptera of Florida
J.B. Heppner. 2003. Florida Department of Agriculture 17(1): 1-670.
5.North American Moth Photographers Group
6.Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Part III [Noctuidae]
William T. M. Forbes . 1954. Cornell University. Agricultural Experiment Station Memoir: Number 329: 1-433.
7.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 1 October, 2005 - 12:36am
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Beatriz Moisset, Maury Heiman, marcie oconnor
Last updated 15 May, 2019 - 9:45am

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