Species Semioscopis merriccella - Hodges#0913

Classification · Hodges Number · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · See Also · Internet References

Pennsylvania Moth - Semioscopis merriccella

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 Gelechioidea (Twirler Moths and kin)

Family Depressariidae

Subfamily Depressariinae

Genus Semioscopis

Species merriccella (Semioscopis merriccella - Hodges#0913)

Hodges Number

0913

Size

wingspan 11-15 mm

Identification

forewing light brownish-gray with sinuous black line running longitudinally from a point below the base to the end of the cell, and darker brownish shading distal to the hook-shaped end of this line (basal portion of line thick; distal curved portion of line thinner); terminal line composed of several black dashes

hindwing uniformly light gray with long fringe scales

Range

apparently widespread but distribution patchy and not well known; Internet records from California, Illinois, Maryland, Ontario

Season

adults fly in spring

Food

unknown, as of February 2006

See Also

In Packard's Concealer Moth (Semioscopis packardella), the black sinuous line extends to base of wing [in merriccella, the line stops short of base of wing]

S. mcdunnoughi has been recorded from Colorado and Washington (see map) but no images of this species were found on the Internet as of February 2006

Internet References

live adult image plus description and flight season (Lynn Scott, Ontario)

pinned adult image by Jim Vargo, and comparison images of similar species (Moth Photographers Group)

live adult images by various photographers, and comparison images of similar species (Moth Photographers Group)

presence in California; list (U. of California at Berkeley)

presence in Illinois; list (Illinois State Museum)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 12 February, 2006 - 12:18pm
Additional contributions by Dave Webb, Blocky
Last updated 23 February, 2024 - 1:39am

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