[ncsc-moths] Re: ID help, please

  • From: "Harry Wilson" <harrywilson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:48:12 -0500

Merrill, 

I feel a compulsion to identify my moths, I guess. Even without the specific 
ID, it is a lifer and one more example of how frequently a small moth on the 
sheet seems to be making a cameo appearance. 

Harry

From: J. Merrill Lynch 
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 8:12 PM
To: ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Subject: [ncsc-moths] Re: ID help, please

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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