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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Twirler Moths and kin (Gelechioidea) » Twirler Moths (Gelechiidae) » Gelechiinae » Gelechiini » Prolita » Prolita variabilis - Hodges#1902 (Prolita variabilis)

Species Prolita variabilis - Hodges#1902

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Variable Prolita Moth - Prolita variabilis

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 Gelechiidae (Twirler Moths)

Subfamily Gelechiinae

Tribe Gelechiini

Genus Prolita

Species variabilis (Prolita variabilis - Hodges#1902)

Hodges Number

1902

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Prolita variabilis (Busck, 1903)

Gelechia variabilis Busck, 1903

Lita variabilis (Busck, 1903)

Numbers

There are twenty named species of Prolita in America north of Mexico. (1)

Size

Forewing length 7-10 mm. (1)

Identification

Forewing has variable color and markings. (1)

Range

Plains provinces of Canada, the Great Basin south to northern Arizona and southeastern California; the New England area.(1)

Moth Photographers Group - large map with some distribution data.

Season

Adults are most common from August to October. (MPG)

Food

Comstock (1959) reports larvae on Ericameria linearifolia (DC.) Urbatsch & Wussow [Stenotopsis linearifolius] (narrowleaf goldenbush).

Powell & Opler (2009) reports larval host is unknown. (1)

See Also

Compare on the pinned plates of Moth Photographers Group. (2)

Print References

Busck, A. 1903. A revision of the American moths of the family Gelechiidae, with descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 25: 871. (3)

Comstock, J.A. 1959. Rare or common! With notes on the life histories of two southwestern moths. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. 58(3): 170.

Hodges, R.W. 1967. Revision of Nearctic Gelechiidae. 1. The Lita group (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea). Proceedings of the United States National Museum., 119: 13, figs. 3-7, 68-70, 146, 151, 173-174. (4)

Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. p. 90, pl. 8.12.(1)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (MPG)

University of California, Berkeley

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)

University of Alberta E. H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Works Cited

1.	Moths of Western North America Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.

2.	North American Moth Photographers Group

3.	A revision of the American moths of the family Gelechiidae, with descriptions of new species August Busck. 1903. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 25: 767-938.

4.	Revision of Nearctic Gelechiidae. 1. The Lita group (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) R. W. . Hodges. 1966. Proceedings of The United States National Museum 119: 1-66.

Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 6 September, 2011 - 1:00am
Last updated 24 October, 2013 - 1:04am

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