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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Erebidae » Tiger and Lichen Moths (Arctiinae) » Tiger Moths (Arctiini) » Spilosomina » Leptarctia » Leptarctia californiae - Hodges#8126 (Leptarctia californiae)

Species Leptarctia californiae - Hodges#8126

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Underwing? - Leptarctia californiae - female Tiger Moth - Leptarctia californiae - female Tiger Moth - Leptarctia californiae - female Tiger Moth - Leptarctia californiae - female Leptarctia californiae - male Leptarctia californiae Unknown moth - Leptarctia californiae - male Leptarctia californiae - male
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 Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Erebidae
Subfamily Arctiinae (Tiger and Lichen Moths)
Tribe Arctiini (Tiger Moths)
Subtribe Spilosomina
Genus Leptarctia
Species californiae (Leptarctia californiae - Hodges#8126)
Hodges Number
8126
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Leptarctia californiae (Walker, 1855)
Nemeophila californiae Walker, 1855
Long list of due to the many variations!
Lithosia lena Boisduval, 1869
L. adnata Boisduval, 1869
Leptarctia fulvofasciata Butler, 1881
L. wrightii French, 1889
Lithosia decia Boisduval, 1869
Leptarctia boisduvalii Butler, 1881
L. latifasciata Butler, 1881
L. albifascia French, 1889
L. occidentalis French, 1889
L. dimidiata Stretch, 1872
L. stretchii Butler, 1881
Phylogenetic sequence # 930336 (1)
Numbers
The only species in this genus in America north of Mexico.(1)
Size
wingspan 26-34 mm, based on photos by Bruce Walsh
Identification
Adult: forewing dark gray to black with or without white spots (usually along costa at AM, PM, and/or subterminal lines); hindwing varies from mostly black to mostly orange, sometimes black with bold yellow, white, or orange markings; male antennae pectinate; female antennae simple.

Highly variable.
Range
New Mexico and Colorado to California, north to British Columbia.
Moth Photographers Group - large map with some collection locations and dates.
Season
Most records are from March to July.
Food
Larvae feed on a variety of herbaceous plants.
Remarks
Taxonomists apparently had difficulty in classifying this species, probably due to its great variation in color; eleven synonyms were proposed by four authors between the years 1869 and 1889.

Adults are active during daylight hours. diurnal
See Also
The Infant - Archiearis infans
Print References
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America University of California Press. pl. 47, figs. 13-15; p. 269. (2)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (3)
pinned adult images of 4 specimens showing variation in color (Bruce Walsh, Moths of Southeastern Arizona) (4)
The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (5)
Works Cited
1.Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico.
Donald J. Lafontaine, B. Christian Schmidt. 2010. ZooKeys 40: 1–239 .
2.Moths of Western North America
Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.
3.North American Moth Photographers Group
4.Moths of Southeast Arizona
5.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 22 April, 2006 - 2:33pm
Additional contributions by Maury Heiman, Robert H. Biagi
Last updated 4 May, 2019 - 10:47pm

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