Image of Pale-veined Isturgia Moth

Description:

Pale-veined Isturgia Moth (Isturgia dislocaria) Note: We are indebted and thank Kyhl Austin, Contributing Editor, at BugGuide, which is administratively centered at the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University, for making a prompt and correct IDentification of this moth for us. The BugGuide ID of our Isturgia dislocaria may be accessed here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/1199054 This Pale-veined Isturgia Moth (Isturgia dislocaria) decided to take residence inside our home during two days of more or less continuous rain this past week in the greater North Texas area. Since our yard backs up into Cooper Creek and Avondale Park, we consider it to be an extension of the flora and fauna found at the park and certainly on (or in) the creek. And so it is that we present this new moth (for us at least) whose wingspan measured about three-quarters of an inch. Eventually we captured it and released it outside once the sun had come out. A quick review of the BugGuide information page for Isturgia dislocaria indicates that this small moth flies most extensively throughout the year in Texas than in any of the other 11 states in the United States where it’s been reported to fly per reports submitted to BugGuide. In Texas, Isturgia dislocaria flies from January through October. Elsewhere in the country and in Canada’s Ontario Province, this moth tends to fly from March through June mostly with the exception being Florida where it flies from January to March and longer apparently. Although not indicated on BugGuide, it would appear that Isturgia dislocaria most likely also flies in northeastern Mexico given the patterns and trends reported for this species per this source. In the U.S., the Pale-veined Isturgia Moth flies in these 12 states: Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Basically, this moth flies from the greater Great Lakes area to the Río Bravo/Río Grande, north to south and vice versa. This moth was formerly and commonly known as Pale-veined Enconista. It is the only species of this genus that flies in North America. Its common host is the Hackberry tree and there are plenty of these trees in the area where it was observed. Here’s the classification for Pale-veined Isturgia Moth provided on BugGuide: Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) Class Insecta (Insects) Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) No Taxon (Moths) Superfamily Geometroidea Family Geometridae (Geometrid Moths) Subfamily Ennominae Tribe Macariini Genus Isturgia Species dislocaria (Pale-veined Isturgia Moth - Hodges#6419) Sources: “190400 – 6419 – Isturgia dislocaria – Pale-veined Isturgia Moth – (Packard, 1876),” North American Moth Photographers Group, Mississippi Entomological Museum, Mississippi State University, photographs, range map, accessed March 12, 2016, http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=6419 “Pale-veined Isturgia Moth,” BugGuide, Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, photographs, range map, description, resource links, accessed March 12, 2016, http://bugguide.net/node/view/11193