2019 September 26

 

   Jochen Möhr’s moths from Metchosin this morning:

 

1 Drepanulatrix sp.

1 Nadata gibbosa

5 Pleromelloida cinerea

1 Lithomoia germana

1 Sunira decipiens

 

   Jeremy Tatum writes:  In the original description of the moth below I had misidentified it as a probable Schizura ipomoeae.  Glad to have Libby Avis back from a short trip – she has corrected the error of my ways!  I was even in the wrong Family – it is a noctuid, not a notodontid.  Libby writes: It is Lithomoia germana, an unusual looking noctuid. It has much larger, more pronounced spots than S. ipomoeae and a very deep abdomen which makes it look a bit top-heavy when it’s at rest. We quite often get it here (Port Alberni) in late summer/fall and I’ve also seen it in Pemberton and at Manning Park. Nice to get a report from the Victoria area.

I suppose this might be a case of convergent evolution.  Apart from the conspicuous reniform and orbicular spots (typical of a noctuid) it does look rather similar to the notodontid genus Schizura.  They must have independently discovered how to look like a fragment of bark.

Lithomoia germana (Lep.: Noctuidae)  Jochen Möhr