Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Sponsor
The Coleopterists Society supports BugGuide.

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

National Moth Week was July 23-31, 2022! See moth submissions.

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths (Geometroidea) » Geometrid Moths (Geometridae) » Ennominae » Alsophilini » Alsophila » Fall Cankerworm - Hodges#6258 (Alsophila pometaria)
Photo#604909
Geometridae, pupa out of cocoon - Alsophila pometaria - female
Copyright © 2011 MJ Hatfield

Geometridae, pupa out of cocoon - Alsophila pometaria - Female
100 Acre Wood, Winneshiek County, Iowa, USA
September 14, 2011
Size: 7 mm
Question: Evolutionarily speaking, did this female moth have wings and then give them up? Because it looks as if the pupa has wing placeholders.

04-Jun-2011 Larva collected on Triosteum aurantiacum
17-Jun-2011 Notes say: "I think it made a cell in the peat" (at bottom of rearing container).
14-Sep-2011 Opened the peat coccoon to a perfectly formed pupa, but pupa completely still. Lovely color.
25-Dec-2011 Drat, a wingless female emerged and I completely missed it. She was in one of the rearing containers sitting right here, where I could keep an eye on it.

Images of this individual: tag all
Geometridae, pupa out of cocoon - Alsophila pometaria - female Geometridae, larva, dorsal - Alsophila pometaria Geometridae, larva, lateral - Alsophila pometaria - female Geometridae, adult - Alsophila pometaria - female Geometridae, spent pupal case out of cocoon - Alsophila pometaria - female
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by MJ Hatfield on 31 December, 2011 - 6:47pm
Last updated 9 May, 2012 - 8:19am

Interesting
All wingless moths are descended from winged ancestors, so those are vestigial wing pads in the pupal case. That's neat, I wouldn't have expected them to be there.
… Charley Eiseman, 2 January, 2012 - 11:34am login or register to post comments

 
Yes, surprising.
At least one wouldn't expect them to be so well devloped.
… James C. Trager, 10 November, 2015 - 1:29pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact