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Species Elaphria chalcedonia - Chalcedony Midget - Hodges#9679

Elaphria chalcedonia Chalcedony Midget Moth - Elaphria chalcedonia Elaphria chalcedonia Moth to porch light - Elaphria chalcedonia Unknown Moth - Elaphria chalcedonia Elaphria - Elaphria chalcedonia NMW2018 Moth #149 - Elaphria chalcedonia Chalcedony Midget - Hodges#9679 - Dorsal  - Elaphria chalcedonia
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 Elaphriini
Genus Elaphria (Midgets)
Species chalcedonia (Chalcedony Midget - Hodges#9679)
Hodges Number
9679
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Elaphria chalcedonia (Hübner, [1808])
* Phylogenetic sequence #932230
Explanation of Names
CHALCEDONY: a precious stone, usually gray and/or whitish, sometimes mixed with other colors, resembling the colors on the moth's forewing
Numbers
15 Elaphria species are found in America north of Mexico(1)
Size
wingspan 24-28 mm (2)
Identification
Adult: forewing color a mixture of white, dark gray/blackish, and dull yellow or orangish; basal and upper median areas dull yellowish to orangish; white edging along PM line varies from broad and conspicuous to thin and patchy; dark gray to blackish shading inside AM line next to inner margin, in lower median area, and in subterminal area except for pale yellowish apical patch; reniform spot fairly small and more-or-less flattened/straight; orbicular spot small, elongate/oblong; distance between PM line and apical patch is greater than height of apical patch; hindwing either mostly white with dark gray shading distally (male?) or fairly uniform brownish-gray (female?); fringe pale
Range
eastern United States: Maine to Florida, west to Texas, north to Wisconsin (2)
Season
adults fly year-round in Florida; June to September northward (2)
Food
larvae feed on beardtongue, figwort, monkey-flower, and other members of the snapdragon family (2)
See Also
Festive Midget and Pale-winged Midget (both belonging to the E. festivoides complex) forewings have a larger and more U-shaped reniform spot, a more rounded/oval/circular orbicular spot, little or no blackish shading inside AM line next to inner margin, and the distance between PM line and apical patch is equal to or less than height of apical patch
Print References
Lafontaine J. D., and B. C. Schmidt 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America North of Mexico. (1)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - range map, photos of living and pinned adults.
BOLD - Barcode of Life Data Systems - collection map and photos of pinned adults.
live adult images (Larry Line, Maryland)
pinned adult image (Pierre Zagatti, Lepidoptera of the French Antilles)
pinned adult image by John Glaser (Dalton State College, Georgia)
presence in Florida; list (John Heppner, Florida State Collection of Arthropods)
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.Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America
Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.