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Species Papaipema nepheleptena - Turtle head borer moth - Hodges#9490

Representative Images

Turtlehead Borer Moth - Papaipema nepheleptena Iowa nepheleptena - Papaipema nepheleptena Papaipema cerussata - Papaipema nepheleptena Papaipema nepheleptena Papaipema nepheleptena Papaipema insulidens - Papaipema nepheleptena P. nepheleptena - Papaipema nepheleptena - male Papaipema nepheleptena
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 Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)
Tribe Apameini
Genus Papaipema (Borer Moths)
Species nepheleptena (Turtle head borer moth - Hodges#9490)

Hodges Number

9490

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Papaipema nepheleptena (Dyar, 1908)
Gortyna nepheleptena Dyar, 1908
Phylogenetic sequence # 932473 (1)

Numbers

Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010) listed 47 species of the genus Papaipema in America north of Mexico. (1)

Size

Dyar (1908) listed a wingspan of 33 mm.

Identification

Dyar (1908) original description as Gortyna nepheleptena is online and linked in the print references.

Range

Beadle & Leckie (2012) reported the range to include southeastern Canada and northeastern United States. (2)

Season

The main flight period appears to be August to October. (3), (4)

Food

The larvae bore into the stems of Chelone sp. (turtlehead). Also Verbena hastata.

Life Cycle

Larva, adult

Remarks

Beadle & Leckie (2012) reported the species to be uncommon. (2)

Print References

Dyar, H.G., 1908. Descriptions of some new species of American Noctuidae. The Canadian Entomologist 40(3): 77.

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (4)
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility (CBIF)
The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (5)
University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum (3)
Ohio State University

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.Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America
David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie. 2012. Houghton Mifflin.
3.University of Alberta Entomology Collection
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
5.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 12 September, 2013 - 11:31pm
Additional contributions by marcie oconnor, dennepj10
Last updated 1 January, 2025 - 7:00am

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