Other Common Names
"Olive Ancylis" (informal)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Ancylis virididorsana (Möschler, 1891)
Phoxopteryx virididorsana Möschler, 1891
Explanation of Names
Ancylis virididorsana (Möschler, 1891) is now recognized within the North American fauna, from Florida Keys (J. Hayden) and Texas (Hayden & Nanz). (Gilligan & Brown in Pohl & Nanz (eds.) 2023).
(1) Identification
This taxon has a large oval dark brown dorsal patch. The patch and adjacent areas of the forewings often show olive-green overtones (iridescence) when fresh, thus the informal common name of "Olive Ancylis". - Chuck Sexton
"A very distinctive species. Palpi clay-yellow, head rust-yellow, thorax greenish, shoulder coverts clay-yellow, as are the abdomen and legs.
Forewing reddish-clay-yellow with a large, irregularly triangular green inner marginal patch, with its tip reaching over the subdorsal, and a rust-red and green mixed marginal area; towards the base, the inner marginal patch is indented towards the front edge. In front of the edge there are fine rust-red cross-streaks. Front edge whitish, with rust-red cross-streaks. Marginal line white, fringes rust-red. Hindwing brownish-grey. Front edge white, from the same towards the edge an elongated metallic grey-blue shiny spot, two such smaller spots in cells 2 and 3. Marginal line brown, fringes white, mixed reddish-yellow.
Below, the forewings are uniformly reddish-yellow, the hindwings white-yellow with metallic blue-grey shiny cross-streaks. 4-5.2mm. - 2 specimens." - Möschler (1891) (Google tranlation)
Range
Texas, Louisiana, Alabama.
Type locality: Puerto Rico.
Season
Multiple flights in central Texas (April-July, September-October, December-January).
Food
Adults have been raised from larvae feeding on rattan vine (Berchemia scandens) in east Texas.
Remarks
Temporary grouping. A specimen identified as "
Ancylis virididorsana" (a Caribbean species) was collected in Long Key, FL, in May 2024 (Hribar 2024), and that is apparently the correct name for the additional examples documented along the Gulf Coast. Additional records in Texas on iNaturalist can be viewed
here. Also see
BOLD:AAM5791, the BIN group for DNA barcoded specimens of
Ancylis virididorsana, which contains specimens from Texas.
Typical virididorsana has a large green dorsal patch. There appears to be a northern form with browner forewing dorsal patch and more diffuse green in the ground color of the post medial area (see Description above), possibly representing a subspecies or undescribed species. The original description of the hind wing of virididorsana does not seem to match that of US specimens. More work is needed.
-- Updated by Steve Nanz, 29 March 2024
Print References
Hribar, L. 2024. A specimen of Ancylis virididorsana...from Long Key, Monroe County, Florida. S. Lep. News 46(3):207-208.
Möschler, H.B., 1890. Die Lepidopteren-Fauna der Insel Portorico. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 16(1):
334.
