Species Besma endropiaria - Straw Besma - Hodges#6884

6884

Besma endropiaria (Grote & Robinson, 1867)

Ellopia endropiaria Grote & Robinson, 1867

Wingspan about 30 mm (1)

Adult: forewing pale whitish-yellow with faint (sometimes partial) AM and PM lines; fringe concolorous with wing; no discal spot on forewing or hindwing (see comments in See Also section below).

Larva: body greenish-yellow with reddish highlights, mimicking leaf petioles and twigs of maple.

Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan and possibly Alberta, plus adjacent northern states, south in the east to Maryland and Iowa (Besma quercivoraria is more widespread, ranging south to Florida and Arizona, and also occurs in Newfoundland and British Columbia).

Larvae feed on leaves of maple, alder, birch, and oak.

Overwinters as a pupa; one generation per year.

See Rupert (1944) for rearing information and description of life stages. (2)

Oak Besma (B. quercivoraria) forewing usually darker tan-yellow, lines well defined, fringe scales usually brown and contrasting against ground color, and dark discal spot almost always present on forewing and hindwing (according to Chris Schmidt of the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes); some pale individuals of quercivoraria are virtually identical to endropiaria (see example with no discal spots at CBIF), and cannot be distinguished except by examination of genitalia (thanks to Eric Rickey of Agriculture Canada for confirming the identity of the quercivoraria photo in the above example) [RM]

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