[tn-moths] Fwd: New species of moth for North Carolina!

From: "J. Merrill Lynch" <jmerrilllynch@xxxxxxxxx>
To: tn-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:10:29 -0400
TN moth-ers,

I'm forwarding this email to the Tennessee folks about a new state record
moth I found in Watauga County, NC recently.  Since I live less than a mile
from the TN state line, it is highly likely that this species could also
occur in Tennessee where it would also be a new state record.

Merrill

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: J. Merrill Lynch <jmerrilllynch@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 9:01 PM
Subject: New species of moth for North Carolina!
To: carolinaleps@xxxxxxxx, ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


Diurnal lepsters,

Just wanted to let folks know that I had a moth at my place recently that is
apparently a new state record, Immigrant Pinion #9894 (Lithophane oriunda).
It came to my bait station (sugar/stale beer concoction painted on a tree)
on 20 March when I photographed it.  I did not get around to identifying it
until this past weekend when I was reviewing my photos.  I identified the
moth as L. oriunda and sent the photo to Steve Hall, invertebrate zoologist
at the NC Natural Heritage Program for verification.  Steve conferred with
several moth experts about the record. The consensus is the photo matches L.
oriunda perfectly but another closely related species, L. joannis, cannot be
ruled out without a specimen.  Steve has decided to provisionally place the
species on the NC list, pending final verification when a specimen is
secured.  A photo of the species can be seen here:
http://www.acleris.com/dls/09894.html.

The Immigrant Pinion is a northern species that ranges from southern Canada
into the northern US.  There is a single record for West Virginia which is
the southernmost and closest confirmed record to North Carolina.  It is
apparently not common anywhere.  Its suspected food plant is ninebark
(Physocarpus opulifolius), a shrub in the family Rosaceae that is primarily
associated with mafic rocks along stream banks and is especially common in
the New River watershed in extreme northwestern North Carolina (where I
live).  It is one of the group of moths in the family Noctuidae that
overwinter as adults and often appear on warm nights during the winter
months and in early spring and late fall.  It is worth noting as well that
the moth came to my bait station but was not attracted to my lights.  If I
had not set up a bait station (this spring was my first attempt at this), I
would not have recorded it.

For those of us immersed in natural history, it is always exciting to expand
our knowledge by finding something new and unexpected.  For me, finding this
moth was both exciting and illuminating.  One of the interesting things
about moths is there is so much amateurs can contribute to the knowledge
base because so little is known about them, even basic things like
distribution.  This is analogous to what has happened with the explosion of
interest in butterflies in recent years with the advent of guides
emphasizIng id using binoculars. This interest has generated a tremendous
amount of new information and understanding.  And the holy grail for
any naturalist is the possibility of finding a new species unknown to
science.  With vertebrate animals, that door is essentially closed.
However, with moths, the chance of finding a new species is a definite
possibility.  And there are not many pursuits where this can be done
literally right in your backyard!

-- 
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
[tn-moths] Fwd: New species of moth for North Carolina!

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