Species Pimaphera percata - Hodges#6441

6441

Pimaphera percata Cassino & Swett, 1927

Forewing length average is 11 mm.

First abdominal segment of the adult is light and second segment is darker than the rest.

All wings are uniform pale gray with dark brown to nearly black maculation.

Discal dot on male is small and indistinct, females more defined.

Arizona; Texas to North Carolina. (1)

Holotype collected in Arizona, Baboquivaria Mts.

Moth Photographers Group - large map with some collection locations and dates.

Adults are most common from May through August.

Pimaphera percata was named by Cassino & Swett in 1927 from Arizona. They also placed Walker's 1862 species Acidalia ? sparsaria in their new genus Pimaphera but offered no critical remarks about distinguishing the two. P. sparsaria was originally described from Florida; a synonym "Boarmia psilogrammaria Zeller" was described from Texas. There is essentially no guidance in literature on how to separate the two species but percata is apparently confined to Arizona. Barcoding is limited or inconclusive for both species. At present, the only available image of true Pimaphera percata is a 1937 specimen from Arizona illustrated on the Moths of Southeastern Arizona website.

Well documented records of Pimaphera percata, as presently understood, are confined to the Baboquivari Mts. of AZ. All other records of Pimaphera from Texas, Oklahoma, and eastward appear to refer to P. sparsaria which was originally described from Florida and Texas.

See also: Glenoides texanaria which is a bit larger and has distinct brown shading on the forewings beyond the PM line and often before the AM line.

Compare on the pinned plates of Moth Photographers Group.

Cassino, S.E. & L. Swett, 1927. A new Geometrid genus. The Lepidopterist. 4(11): 81.

Moth Photographers Group (2)

Moths of Southeastern Arizona (3)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (4)

North Carolina Natural Heritage Program - listed on North Carolina Animal Watch List. (full text PDF)

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) (5)