Species Elaphria chalcedonia - Chalcedony Midget - Hodges#9679

9679

Elaphria chalcedonia (Hübner, [1808])

* Phylogenetic sequence #932230

CHALCEDONY: a precious stone, usually gray and/or whitish, sometimes mixed with other colors, resembling the colors on the moth's forewing

15 Elaphria species are found in America north of Mexico(1)

wingspan 24-28 mm (2)

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

eastern United States: Maine to Florida, west to Texas, north to Wisconsin (2)

adults fly year-round in Florida; June to September northward (2)

larvae feed on beardtongue, figwort, monkey-flower, and other members of the snapdragon family (2)

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

Lafontaine J. D., and B. C. Schmidt 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America North of Mexico. (1)

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)

Moths of Brackenridge Field Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin - on central Texas checklist.