Biology:Euparthenos nubilis

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Euparthenos nubilis
Euparthenos nubilis.jpg
Upperside of imago (scale in centimeters)
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Genus: Euparthenos
Grote, 1876
Species:
E. nubilis
Binomial name
Euparthenos nubilis
(Hübner, 1823)
Synonyms

See text

Euparthenos nubilis (locust underwing) is a species of moth in the family Erebidae and the only member of its genus, Euparthenos. The adults resemble some of the underwing moths of genus Catocala, which are fairly close relatives, in color, pattern, and the habit of resting on tree trunks. But E. nubilis can usually be immediately recognized by the 4 concentric black bands per hindwing, as opposed to one or two (at most 3) in Catocala. Color morphs of E. nubilis with altered pattern are known, however, and these may be hard to recognize without detailed examination.[1]

This moth has light grey forewings with a pattern of darker grey and brown lines and shading. The hindwings are yellow-orange with the aforementioned four black bands each. The wingspan is 56–70 mm (over 2 to almost 3 inches.[2]

The species is found from Maine, Ontario and Quebec, south to northern Florida, west to Nebraska and Arizona. Adults are on wing from April to September. There are two generations per year. The larvae feed on Robinia (locust tree) species, such as Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). The adults like to drink the juice of fermenting fruit, and are attracted to lights.[2]

Systematics and taxonomy

Classification

The species and genus were previously classified in the subfamily Catocalinae of the family Noctuidae and in the tribe Ophiusini of the family Erebidae.[3]

Subspecies

The species has the following described subspecies.[4]

  • Euparthenos nubilis apache (Poling, 1901)
  • Euparthenos nubilis nubilis (Hübner, 1823)
  • Euparthenos nubilis osiris Barnes & Benjamin, 1926

Synonyms

The junior synonyms of this moth are:[4]

  • Genus-level:
    • Catocalirrhus Andrews, 1877
    • Parthenos Hübner, 1823 (non Hübner, 1819: preoccupied)
  • Species-level:
    • Euparthenos faciata (Beutenmüller, 1907)
    • Euparthenos unilineata (Chermock & Chermock, 1940) (morph)

Footnotes

  1. Nelson & Loy (1983), and see references in Savela (2001)
  2. 2.0 2.1 BugGuide (2011)
  3. Wikispecies (2011-SEP-16), and see references in Savela (2001)
  4. 4.0 4.1 See references in Savela (2001)

References

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q13621024 entry