[ncsc-moths] Re: ID help, please

  • From: "J. Merrill Lynch" <jmerrilllynch@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:12:57 -0500

Cool moth, Harry!  I don't think there is any doubt you have nailed the
genus and I agree it looks a lot like Tom Murray's photo.  However, after
looking at the specimen plates on MPG, there are a number of species in that
genus that look similar.  All seem to be pine specialists.  I haven't looked
too carefully but I bet there is a species that specializes on southern
pines.  I wouldn't knock myself out trying to pin down which one; you did a
great job getting it to genus!

Merrill

On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 7:54 PM, Harry Wilson <harrywilson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Moth-ers,
>
> I have decided that moths should be required to carry identification with
> them. That way there will be some hope for me to maintain my sanity.
>
> Last night I took the attached photos, and many others, of a micro moth
> that is giving me a headache. One problem is that my sheet was not anchored
> as well as it should have been, so I had a constantly moving target. After
> searching through MPG and BugGuide, I believe that the closest match is an
> unlikely candidate, #2887.1,Rhyacionia duplana or Summer Shoot Moth/Elgin
> Shoot Moth. It resembles Tom Murrays photos from Groton MA at
> http://bugguide.net/node/view/382988 and
> http://www.pbase.com/image/123416460. This is a European and Asian moth
> that has been documented in the US only in MA, as far as I can tell. I have
> included information on host plants and distribution to show why I discount
> my tentative ID. I hope that someone may bring me back to my senses with a
> better, more logical, ID.
>
> Host plants: Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine), Pinus contorta var. latifolia
> (Shore Pine, a common tree in western North America), Pinus thunbergii
> (Japanese Black Pine, Japanese Pine, Black Pine – native to Japan and S.
> Korea), Picea sitchensis (Sitka Spruce – from AK down coast to n. CA).
> Distribution: Northern and Central Europe to Eastern Russia and Japan. Also
> recorded from Korea, but Byun et al., 1998, have not found any specimens.
> In the UK, this species is represented by the subspecies Rhyacionia duplana
> logaea , where it is also known as the Elgin shoot moth; in Japan the
> subspecies Rhyacionia duplana simulata Heinrich occurs.
>
> Harry Wilson
> Zebulon, NC
>



-- 
J. Merrill Lynch
Echo Valley Farm
Watauga County, NC
Elevation:  3,400 feet

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