Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Enypia packardata Taylor, 1906
Explanation of Names
PACKARDATA: named in honor of 19th century entomologist A.S. Packard, who described numerous species and genera of geometrid moths while working with the US Department of Agriculture.
The common name suggested above follows similar names given to other species of
Enypia:
Mountain Girdle (
E. griseata) and
Variable Girdle (
E. venata). "Girdle" presumably refers to the shape of the median area of the forewing - narrow at the inner margin, and flaring outward toward the costa, like the shape of a woman's girdle.
Identification
Adult: light brownish-gray with dark speckling; discal spot a short black streak; AM and PM lines black, prominent; PM line angles diagonally from inner margin toward apex, meeting costa in apical area, and its outline is a highly irregular mix of triangular teeth and rounded sinuses; AM line scalloped; hindwing slightly paler with very irregular PM line; outer margin slightly angular or flattened
Specimens identified by DNA analysis:
Larva: head brown with cream-colored herringbone pattern on each lobe; frontal triangle green; body bright green with thin dark green middorsal stripe; white subdorsal stripe extends onto head; spiracular stripe white
[adapted from description at Canadian Forest Service]
Range
west coast from southern Alaska to California, east to Utah
Season
adults fly in late spring and summer
larvae active from late summer through fall, and again in spring
Food
larvae feed on foliage of conifers, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Grand Fir (Abies grandis), and Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla); other hosts include Amabilis Fir, Western Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, Mountain Hemlock
Life Cycle
one generation per year; overwinters as a fourth or fifth-instar larva; larval feeding resumes in spring and continues until May or June; pupal stage lasts about 21 days and occurs between May and July; adults emerge from late May to August; females lay about 55 eggs on foliage; larvae emerge about two weeks later and feed until onset of cold weather
[adapted from text at Canadian Forest Service]
See Also
Enypia griseata forewing is darker with heavier speckling and a smoother PM line;
E. venata forewing has a large "tooth" projecting from the AM line to the discal spot, and a heavily "spined" or "thorny" PM line.
Nepytia species have a sinuate PM line that curves basally before meeting costa in subapical area
Cingilia catenaria has a sinuate PM line that curves basally before meeting costa in subapical area
Internet References
pinned adult image plus description, food plants, similar species (Jeff Miller, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands; USGS)
live larva images plus description, distribution, food plants, biology (Canadian Forest Service)
presence in Utah; list (Joel Johnson, Utah Lepidopterists Society)
