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Photo#916688
 Plataea californiaria - Plataea

Plataea californiaria - Plataea
Claremont, Los Angeles County, California, USA
April 26, 2014
This moth was attracted to a blacklight set up in coastal sage scrub at the Claremont Colleges' Bernard Field Station. I think it must be Plataea, but I am unsure of the species. Any information will be greatly appreciated!

(The image looks a little funny because it was made by combining the in-focus bits from several photos. Unfortunately, quite a bit of the moth was not in focus in any of the photos. I am still trying to figure out how to take photos of insects at night with the flash.)

Update 5 February 2021: This specimen was ID'd as Plataea californiaria by Robert Martin at Butterflies and Moths of North America, but this seems likely to be incorrect — see comments below.

Moved

Does not look like P. californiaria to me
It could be P. diva, which can look very much like this (though is usually paler). Looks a lot like P. personaria too.

I do not think the ones posted at MPG as of today under the name P. californiaria are correct. They look nothing like the type specimens of that species, and they do not fit the description.

 
Thank you - moved to genus
Thanks for your comment. I certainly am not expert enough to tell the species, so I've move this back to genus.

 
I'm still learning - it's an endless process
These have been pretty confused. This week there has been a surge in attention to them again, hopefully getting closer to sorting them out properly. I looked at the ones at Butterflies and Moths of North America, and all of the rest shown there under P. californiaria there are either P. personaria or P. uncaria.

James Bailey has been making a valiant effort at it, and hopefully I'm not just confusing everyone more with my comments. :0)

Moved
Moved from Moths.

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