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Photo#735076
A Tortricid moth? - Acrolophus walsinghami

A Tortricid moth? - Acrolophus walsinghami
Hollywood, Broward County, Florida, USA
January 3, 2013
Size: ~1cm
Approx. 23:35 hr. Attracted by longwave UV lamp. Much leaf-rolling occurring in our garden.

Images of this individual: tag all
A Tortricid moth? - Acrolophus walsinghami A Tortricid moth? - Acrolophus walsinghami

Moved
Moved from Tubeworm Moths.

Acrolophus
This looks like Acrolophus plumifrontella 0372– Eastern Grass Tubeworm Moth . It is very common at my site in Florida, not very far north of you.

Tubeworm Moth
Moved from ID Request.
B&B,
I do not recognize this Acrolophus as it's just one of 53 species. Perhaps someone will eventually submit one for DNA and we will know the species. Until such time, you can regale in the fact that you have the first Acrolophus posted from Florida on BugGuide.
Robert

 
Possibly Acrolophus walsinghami
I'd say with 60% confidence this is Acrolophus walsinghami Möschler, a Caribbean species that has become widespread in south Florida since at least 2000. The dark "W" on the forewing is distinctive, but the exact coloration is highly variable, so I would need to see genitalia.

 
Jim, if you are comfortable with the genus Acrolophus
there are about 300 images waiting for an ID here some of which seem to fit your description for this species.

Just leave comments on the images with your IDs and they will be moved into the guide by one of the editors.

 
Guide Page
John,
Looks like Jim is correct in his ID. This specimen is match for images on MPG & BOLD. I created a guide page for Acrolophus walsinghami. I think it important that only specimens from south Florida be considered for this species, since this is the only area that has been professionally verified.
Robert

 
Robert
Based on Jim's comments, I moved the two images that I had posted of this moth under A. plumifrontella back to the genus page before I was aware that you had created a page for A. walsinghami. Do you and any others feel it is safe to move those images to the A. walsinghami page? 60% confidence is still a ways off from absolute certainty.

 
Hold up ...
Gary,
I have emailed Jim Hayden about the new guide page and description. In addition to the sinuous line on the inner margins of FW, I have noticed that there is a distinct white discal spot on all the specimens I have found online. Still, we will await Jim lead on ID's. I will forward you the email I sent Jim.
Robert

 
Wing pattern is unreliable
I agree. Peter Jump, who is revising Acrolophus for the MONA series, reiterates that wing pattern is unreliable. From what I have seen, there is a lot of intraspecific variation (e.g. only a few have white discal scales), and features like the "W" are shared with other species. Let's keep "Acrolophus sp." as such for now.

Another possibility might be one of the many Acrolophus

 
Hmmm ...
The referenced specimen certainly looks close. Only the posted moth, with a TL of ~25mm, is twice the size of the largest Acrolophus, with WS of ~22mm. I wouldn't think the size estimate would be off because 25mm is quite large ... the average knuckle length of little finger. Just a thought.
Z

 
Total Length?
The original posting was a stem-to-stern length of ~10mm. A measurement of the warp/weft spacing of the fabric on which the moth was imaged yields an equivalent of 2.4lines/mm. Which yields a stem-to-stern length of ~11mm. Is that a better fit for Acrolophus ?

 
Senior Moment :)
Disregard previous comment, as I was obviously having another senior moment, thinking 1 inch = 25mm. Of course 1cm = 10mm. Ignore the man behind the curtain:=) John's ID looks good.
Robert

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