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Nemoria arizonaria (Grote, 1883). [7020 & 7021]
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Nemoria arizonaria,
adult female, summer (aemularia) form. Specimen collected Copper
Canyon, Cochise
Co. AZ, August, 2005.
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Nemoria arizonaria, same
specimen as live moth at left. |
Nemoria arizonaria is typically found only in canyon habitats at
elevations between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. The species is known from
Arizona, New Mexico, and the Davis Mountains of Texas, although the
summer form of Nemoria arizonaria (pictured above) has only been found in Arizona.
Nemoria arizonaria has two different seasonal forms. Initial
collections described the summer seasonal form with unmarked white costa as a unique species named
Nemoria aemularia (see photo above). Noel McFarland, however showed that N.
aemularia adults could be reared from arizonaria eggs thereby
providing the evidence that they were actually the same moth, occurring
in substantially different forms. This phenomenon is called seasonal
dimorphism, and represents an interesting form of polyphenism in the
group.
Nemoria arizonaria is a yellow-green moth with a typically wide post-medial line. This line is not very clearly defined, however, it is
one of the broadest lines among N. American Nemoria species.
There also may be a very thin terminal line on the wing, which is usually
yellow with some red markings between veins; the wings having a white fringe. The most notable
difference between the winter-early spring form and the summer form is found
in the
purple red markings on the costa of the forewing. Markings on the
abdomen also may differ substantially; the summer form has reddish brown markings on the first few
segments for the males, and the females have no green on the abdomen and
just pale red markings. (S. Bach contributing)
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Nemoria arizonaria,
adult female, spring form, collection of the National Museum of
Natural History (Smithsonian).
Note the
rose colored forewing costa and yellow hindwing margin on the spring
specimen above. Male specimens (and occasionally females) may have
small distinct white spots on the abdomen. At right are shown the varied abdominal markings of
three females of summer form Nemoria
arizonaria; these show
reduced white spots on a red-brown background on one or more
segments, or (in the middle specimen), a reduction of the white
spots to complete absence, with or without a residual dark purple
brown circle. All three of the specimens at right collected in the
Huachuca Mountains, Cochise Co., AZ August 2005.
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