nicaraguan lep's ID

[JEAN MICHEL MAES]

Dear all,

I am working in Nicaragua since 1983. My main objective is organizing a
entomological collection.

This year we are beginning to work with nocturnal lepidoptera. I am looking
for persons who can identify some groups from pictures. Obviously is more
easy for us to send pictures than moths, the moths fly relatively bad when
pin mounted. We have worked with pictures the Saturniid group with a couple
of people of this list and we are very glad of the results. Now we have all
our Saturniidae identified. For that reason we are looking for more people,
principally : Noctuidae, Geometridae, Notodontidae, Lasiocampidae,
Cossidae, Lymantriidae.

Sincerely,

Jean-Michel Maes.

At 06:28 PM 25/04/00 -0400, you wrote:
>"A picture's worth a thousand words" or in the case of noctuids "10,000
>words!!"  There's a few critical pieces missing here, to even come close to
>a guess. First, is it flying now, like Orthosia rubescens and Cerastis
brifera, both of which have pectinate antennae, or in the fall like
>Xestia dilucida?  Even better, are there sclerotized setae sticking out of
>the fore, mid, and hind tibia between the two pairs of mid-tibial "spurs"
>and in front of the single terminal pair ofhind tibial "spurs."  If the mid
>and hind tibia have the setae then it's likely a Noctuinae; if the foretibia
>lack them it's probably Xestia dilucida, which usually occurs in open pine
>barrens with lots of blueberry present. Both Xestia dilucida and Cerastis
>tenebrifera have paler contrasting reniform and orbicular spots and both
>have a horay dusting of gray scales but I haven't seen a Cerastis more than
>1.5" across. (Both are illustrated in the 1998 MONA).  Getting warmer?
>
>Incidentally, an early summer flier could still be a Hemipachnobia!! A third
>species has recently been discovered in Maryland that's large like
>subprorphyrea; it still occurs in bogs but has nothing to do with Venus
>Fly-trap so it could be in the highlands.
>
>Don
>
>
>
>"DR. JAMES ADAMS" wrote:
>
>> Dear listers, especially those interested in noctuids,
>>
>>         No picture with this one, other than the one I can paint in your
>> head.  The moth is certainly one I have never encountered
>> previously -- initial impression is something near Hemipachnobia
>> subporphyrea (see recent MONA fascicle on the Noctuinae).  It is a
>> male, roughly < or = 2 inches in wingspan, with a warm brownish
>> appearance, though overlain with more grayish terminally on the
>> forewings.  The whole moth has a hoary-ish appearance -- sort of
>> frosted with grey, pretty hairy thorax, *obviously* bipectinate
>> antennae.  The hindwings are dark greyish, and the underside of all
>> wings is relatively unmarked grey.  As for markings on the
>> forewings -- two lines just a little darker than the ground color: the
>> outer one is PM/ST and curved, the inner one is bent near the
>> costa but (irregularly) straight to the posterior edge.  There is an
>> oblong, slightly bent greyish reniform spot, and another smaller
>> round cellular spot, also grey.  Neither spot is spectacularly darker
>> than the background, though both are clear.
>>
>>         So, what do you think?  Anybody?  By the way, the moth was
>> caught in the mountainous Highlands area, far from the coastal
>> bogs where H. subporphyrea is supposed to be found.
>>
>>         James
>>
>> Dr. James K. Adams
>> Dept. of Natural Science and Math
>> Dalton State College
>> 213 N. College Drive
>> Dalton, GA  30720
>> Phone: (706)272-4427; fax: (706)272-2533
>> U of Michigan's President James Angell's
>>   Secret of Success: "Grow antennae, not horns"
>
>
>
Jean-Michel MAES
Museo Entomologico
Asociacion Nicaraguense de Entomologia
AP 527 - Leon
NICARAGUA

tel 505-0-3116586

FAX 505-0-3115700

jmmaes at ibw.com.ni

httm://www.sdnnic.org.ni/museo_entomologico.htm
httm://www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/workers/jmaes.htm