Species Euscirrhopterus gloveri - Purslane Moth - Hodges#9307

9307

Euscirrhopterus gloveri Grote(1) & Robinson, 1868

Phylogenetic sequence # 931972 (2)

Named in honor of Professor Townend Glover (1813-1883), the first entomologist at the USDA and one of the finest illustrators of insects in the United States.

Forewing length 15-20 mm. (3)

Caterpillars vary much in coloring and pattern, particularly in the amount of black.

Nebraska and Kansas, southward throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. (4)

Purslane (Portulacaceae). Larvae often found on little hogweed (Portulaca oleracea) and orange fameflower (Phemeranthus aurantiacum). After summer rains, areas with Portulaca oleracea may be literally swarming with the larvae. Have also been reared by Dave Ferguson in New Mexico on desert horsepurslane (Trianthema portulacastrum). Powell & Opler (2009) add rose moss (Portulaca grandiflora) and, in the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), the common beet (Beta vulgaris). (3)

Commonly comes to lights in large numbers.

Euscirrhopterus cosyra.

Eaton, E. & K. Kaufman, 2006. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin. p.254 (5)

Grote, A.R. & C.T. Robinson, 1868. Descriptions of American Lepidoptera, No. 4. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 2: 185

Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. p.283; pl. 51; fig. 2. (3)

Moth Photographers Group (6)

Noctuidae of North America (nearctica.com) (7)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (8)