Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Honora mellinella Grote, 1878
* phylogenetic sequence #175725
Size
Forewing length 7-11 mm (Powell & Opler, 2009).
(1)
Wingspan 16-24 mm (Heinrich, 1956).
Identification
Adult: FW blackish-fuscous. Head and thorax faded ocherous. Interior line white, not continued to costa. Yellow shade-spot below, near inner margin. Two separate, very small, dark, distal dots. Exterior line near the margin, even, narrow, and indistinct white. HW very pale fuscous, silky, with concolorous fringes.
Range
Southeastern states; in the west from Texas to California; Washington (Heinrich, 1956). Also Oklahoma.
Food
Known larval hosts are
Palafoxia (Asteraceae) (Heinrich, 1956). Powell & Opler specify flower heads of
desert palafox (
P. arida) in the Mojave desert.
(1)See Also
Honora dotella is larger (8.5-12.5 mm) and has a red basal area.
(1) Print References
Grote, A. R. 1878. Preliminary studies on the North American Pyralidae. Bull. U.S. Geol. Geog. Surv. Terr. 4(3):
702
Ragonot, E.L., 1901. Monographie des Phycitinae et des Galleriinae Vol. II. Mémoires sur les Lépidoptères / rédigés par N. M. Romanoff Vol. VIII:
185,
pl. XXXI fig. 11.
(2)
Heinrich, C. 1956. American moths of the subfamily Phycitinae. USNM Bulletin 207:
197Internet References
BOLD Systems - images of DNA supported specimens
(3)