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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Owlet Moths and kin (Noctuoidea) » Erebidae » Scoliopteryginae » Scoliopterygini » Scoliopteryx » The Herald - Hodges#8555 (Scoliopteryx libatrix)

Species Scoliopteryx libatrix - The Herald - Hodges#8555

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Scoliopteryx libatrix – Herald Moth - Scoliopteryx libatrix Erebidae: Scoliopteryx libatrix - Scoliopteryx libatrix Dang nab it Moth - Scoliopteryx libatrix Erebidae: Scoliopteryx libatrix - Scoliopteryx libatrix Geometridae at porchlight - Scoliopteryx libatrix 8555 The Herald caterpillar? - Scoliopteryx libatrix Scoliopteryx libatrix (The Herald) - Scoliopteryx libatrix The Herald - Scoliopteryx libatrix
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 Erebidae
Subfamily Scoliopteryginae
Tribe Scoliopterygini
Genus Scoliopteryx
Species libatrix (The Herald - Hodges#8555)
Hodges Number
8555
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Scoliopteryx libatrix (Linnaeus)
Orig. Comb: Phalaena libatrix Linnaeus 1758
Explanation of Names
Species name from Latin libat meaning to pour (1), so this is "one who pours"?
The name Herald "might be derived from Linnaeus' original name of libatrix – the moths' vestiture may have suggested to him a stately robe, suitable for ceremonial duty." according to A. Maitland Emmet in The Scientific Names of the British Lepidoptera – Their History and Meaning as reported by Robert Homan to Juliet Bailey in Great Britain (Gloucestershire Naturalists Society)
Size
wingspan 38-45 mm
Identification
Distinctive. Scalloped outer margins of forewing and hindwing. Forewing is gray with wavy lines, has central bright orange patches with metallic flecks.
Range
N. Amer. Range - MPG
Holarctic; apparently more common in northern North America than in southern parts.
Habitat
Areas near host plant
Season
mostly: May-Sept (Adults overwinter (2))
Food
Larvae feed on leaves of poplar and willow. Adults are attracted to moth bait.
Life Cycle
Adults overwinter in sheltered areas such as basements, cellars, caves, barns, etc. (2)
Life cycle images:
larva on willow; adult
Print References
Borror, entry for libat (1)
Covell, p. 162, plate 39#12 (3)
Wagner, Caterpillars of Eastern North America, p. 371--photo of caterpillar (4)
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. plate 43, fig. 23; p. 256.(5)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - MPG (6)
Pacific Northwest Moths (7)
E.H. Strickland Museum
Moths of North Dakota (6)
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (8)
UK Moths
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.Scoliopteryx libatrix (Noctuidae) and triphosa haesitata (Geometridae) in caves in Manitoba, Canada
W. Brian McKillop. 1993. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 47(2): 106-113 .
3.Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths
Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.
4.Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner. 2005. Princeton University Press.
5.Moths of Western North America
Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.
6.North American Moth Photographers Group
7.Pacific Northwest Moths
8.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Cotinis on 22 December, 2004 - 7:45am
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Jeff Hollenbeck, Mike Quinn, Maury Heiman, Jay Greenberg, marcie oconnor
Last updated 10 March, 2016 - 10:58am

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