I live in northeast Tennessee at about 1600' elevation. We have Virginia and White Pines growing in or around our suburban yard.We also have Blue Spruce, Arbor Vitaes and an unknown (Canada Spruce?) evergreen. Who knows what else could be planted nearby. I've been photographing some Rhyacionia spp. (I think) the past few years. The dates of four are included here. All were at my porch light. 1 - 2/17/11 2 - 3/18/10 3 - 3/10/10 4 - 6/6/09 Larry McDaniel Johnson City, TN Washington County Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:49:38 -0500 Subject: [ncsc-moths] Re: ID Help, Please ( Rhyacionia ) From: jmerrilllynch@xxxxxxxxx To: ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Ken, Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) is not native to TN except for perhaps the very southernmost areas along the Alabama and Mississippi border. I'm guessing your native pines are P. virginiana (Virginia or scrub pine) and P. echinata (shortleaf pine). However, loblolly is widely planted and could be in your area. Merrill On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 7:41 AM, kjchilds <kjchilds@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Elevation here is about 500 feet and I'm assuming that must be ideal for loblolly pines. The state Tree Seedling Nursery is located a few miles from my farm. Ken Childs Henderson, TN Chester County http://www.finishflagfarms.com From: Jean Obrist <innisfreehorses@xxxxxxxxxx> To: ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sun, February 20, 2011 9:03:35 PM Subject: [ncsc-moths] Re: ID Help, Please ( Rhyacionia ) According to All-Leps BOL, Rhyacionia busckana has been found near Cosby, TN (eastern mountains) Also, R. frustrana was in the same area of Cocke Co, TN and in middle AL. I have not seen them yet, but I am at a lower elevation with not as many pines. Jean Obrist Cocke Co, TN ----- Original Message ----- From: J. Merrill Lynch To: ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 9:28 PM Subject: [ncsc-moths] Re: ID Help, Please ( Rhyacionia ) Paul, Harry, et al: I've looked at the key for Rhyacionia in my old copy of Forbes (1923), Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States. The determining mark for R. rigidana is a yellow band immediately in front of the terminal band at the distal end of the wing. All three photos at the bottom of the MPG page for rigidana show this yellow band-- see here: http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=2868 None of the photos of either your's or Harry's moths show this yellow band. So, on that basis I think we can rule out rigidana for both your moths. What bothers me is that your's and Harry's moths show brighter and more extensive red in the distal half of the forewing and do not match well with the photos of frustrana on MPG. However, based on what I've read in the forestry papers, those two species are sympatric across the range of loblolly pine in the southeast (and extend northward to New York and Mass presumably feeding on other pine species there) and are the likely species to encounter in eastern NC. The only way this mystery will be solved will be for you to collect one and send it off for bar-coding. I'll be interested in hearing the results. Merrill On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 9:04 PM, Paul <pandlscharf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Let me add to the confusion . Last year 3/15/10, I photographed #1 and have it identified as R. rigidana ( Can't remember if I identified it through Bugguide or not , but the ID is not positive via speciman ) For the last two nights I've been getting several of what might be the same species # 2 . Based on Merill's research it's more likely to be R. rigidana. However in my initial study of these two photos I'm not even sure they're the same species . Paul -- J. Merrill Lynch Echo Valley Farm Watauga County, NC Elevation: 3,400 feet -- J. Merrill Lynch Echo Valley Farm Watauga County, NC Elevation: 3,400 feet
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02877 maybe Adana Tip Moth - Rhyacionia adana WCT.JPG
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02877 maybe Adana Tip Moth (Tortricidae) - Rhyacionia adana WCT.JPG
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02877 Rhyacionia sp. maybe Adana Tip Moth - R. adana WCT BG.JPG
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02877 maybe Rhyacionia sp. worked thru 4635 WCT.JPG
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