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Species Xanthorhoe defensaria - Hodges#7386

Carpet Moth - Xanthorhoe defensaria Xanthorhoe defensaria - female 1667 Xanthorhoe defensaria - Western Red Twin-spot 7386 - Xanthorhoe defensaria - female 1956 Xanthorhoe defensaria - Western Red Twin-spot 7386 - Xanthorhoe defensaria - male Xanthorhoe sp. - Xanthorhoe defensaria Xanthorhoe defensaria - female Urban spring noctuid - Xanthorhoe defensaria Xanthorhoe I think - Xanthorhoe defensaria - female
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 Geometroidea (Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths)
Family Geometridae (Geometrid Moths)
Subfamily Larentiinae
Tribe Xanthorhoini
Genus Xanthorhoe
Species defensaria (Xanthorhoe defensaria - Hodges#7386)
Hodges Number
7386
Other Common Names
Western Red Twin-spot
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Xanthorhoe defensaria (Guenée, [1858])
Size
wingspan 22-28 mm
Identification
Specimens identified by DNA analysis (BOLD). (1)
Range
British Columbia to California, east to Arizona and Utah
Season
adults fly in spring and again in fall
Food
larvae have been found feeding on flowers of Begonia, and reared on flowers of bramble (Rubus spp.)
[Jeremy Tatum, British Columbia]
Life Cycle
Eggs, adult female:
See Also
Several other species in the tribe Xanthorhoini are similar, but show the following differences:
Euphyia intermediata lacks a smooth AM line on the FW and has dark subapical patch
Xanthorhoe alticolata has reddish tint in median area, and has continuously-curved AM line that meets inner margin at slight angle;
Xanthorhoe ferrugata and lacustrata lack double interior lines in the median area of the FW (compare images of all 5 species)
Caveat: another species, Xanthorhoe dodata occurs in Alberta and British Columbia (and probably northwestern US) but no images could be found on the Internet as of August 2007.
Internet References
live larva and adult images plus food plants (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)
pinned adult images of three specimens, showing variation in color (CBIF)
pinned adult image (Bruce Walsh, Moths of Southeastern Arizona)
pinned adult image plus similar species and other info (Jeff Miller, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands; USGS)