Alaskan moth stray ID'd, thanks!

[James Kruse]

Greetings:

Looks like the Buldir Island Alaska stray is Eudocima tyrranus (Guenée,
1852), but appears as Adris tyrranus in Lepidopterorum Catalogus. I don't
know enough about it to have an opinion on its generic placement, and I
gather there is some argument.

It breeds at least as far north as Japan and Korea. It is regarded as a pest
species in Korea, Japan, etc. The adult moths pierce fruit with their
proboscis (incl. plum, peach, apple and grape) to feed on the juice they
contain, but in doing so, the fruit is damaged and can then be infected by
fungi and rot.

The working theory is that it traveled with a cargo of fruit and flew to the
island, or it may have flown in on its own, and I hear that they do not come
readily to lights (so my original ship lights version is here deemed less
likely).

The stray from Buldir Island can be seen at:

http://owlnut.rr.ualberta.ca/~barb/moth/MysteryMoth.html

Another shot at:

http://owlnut.rr.ualberta.ca/~barb/moth/MysteryMoth2.html

And a view of a mounted specimen from Russia (also a stray??):

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Watershed/7316/noc66.html


My sincere appreciation to the people that assisted in the identification
and provided all of this fine information included above.

James J. Kruse, Ph.D.
Curator of Entomology
University of Alaska Museum
907 Yukon Drive
Fairbanks, AK, USA 99775-6960
tel 907.474.5579
fax 907.474.1987
http://www.uaf.edu/museum/ento




 
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 

   For subscription and related information about LEPS-L visit:

   http://www.peabody.yale.edu/other/lepsl