All: I've been very interested in this discussion as well and thought I'd add another piece of information that might help fill out the picture. I, too, photographed a moth about this time last year that looked to me to fit L. petulca perfectly (the photos are still labeled as such due to sloth on my part-see attached). But what little range info I could find about that species did not lead me ultimately in that direction. Just like any smart naturalist would do . I turned to someone with a lot more knowledge than I. I sent my images to Bo Sullivan who with Steve Hall knows as much about moths in NC as anyone. Here is his response (I'm not quite sure what he meant to say in the last sentence): "The Lithophane looks like patefacta to me. It comes in this marked and also in an unmarked form (lacking the rusty areas). Of course petulca and signosa have two forms also but they tend to be larger and sort of washed over with dirty brown. They are mostly in the mountains as is patefacta but it is the most common Lithophane in the piedmont and coastal plain. It is also not patefacta but an undescribed new species. Bo." I hope that helps a little bit. In response to Cecelia's question about bait, I did what any smart naturalist would do . I turned to people with more knowledge than I. Never having baited for moths I very simply combined recipes offered up here by Lance and Merrill and came up with a concoction that seemed to work pretty well. I took two rotten bananas and mashed them up as best I could with a fork (I didn't want to dirty up a blender if I could help it). To that I added brown sugar, molasses, and stale beer (Red Stripe, though I'm fairly sure that others would work as well) as well as a dash of rum. The mixture sat in my garage for a week or so before conditions-a very mild night-got me off the couch and into the field. I painted the mixture onto a dozen trees lining a path beside my house. The results were decent enough for a first attempt. I had more than a dozen Straight-toothed Sallows (Eupsilia vinulenta - 9933), a couple of Roadside Sallows (Metaxaglaea viatica - 9944), a couple of Green Cloverleaf Moths (Hypena scabra - 8465), and, the last moth of the night, an Ashen Pinion (Lithophane antennata - 9910), a new species for me. There was also a small noctuid that flew off when I approached it at one of the trees. It was interesting to note that light did flush over half of the moths away-most simply folded up their legs and dropped to the leaf litter on the ground. The mixture did not go very far-I'm almost out after one application-but I'll mix up a new batch soon. Thanks to Lance and Merrill and Paul for their recommendations. I'll be interested to try rope dipped in a cheap white wine/sugar mix hung from tree branches. Good mothing, all. Parker Backstrom _____ From: ncsc-moths-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ncsc-moths-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of lance biechele Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 11:55 PM To: ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ncsc-moths] Lithophane question Dear Ed, Actually there may be three moths involved with Lois & Ken's report of L. petcula. There seems to be very similar wing patterns with your Southern form of L. patefacta, while L. hemina and L. signosa are also very close look-alikes.. I recall a note from Dale Schweitzer concerning my photographs of Lithophanes here on the Delmarva. There is a masquarding Lithophane disposita that is quite common here, but actually that species does not occur this far south on the Coastal Plain. Unfortunately, that moth still remains unidentified although the "pic" certainly resembles L. disposita. Such are the ways of moth people! With all Best Regards, Lance
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Lithophane petulca - 2009-01-23 Chatham Co NC, Bear Crk -TL20mm -5 COPY.JPG
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Lithophane petulca - 2009-01-23 Chatham Co NC, Bear Crk -TL20mm -11 COPY.JPG
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