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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Erebidae 930592 – 8404   Rivula propinqualis Guenée, 1854              Spotted Grass Moth

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Distribution: Southern Canada west to BC. South to Florida and Texas. Grassy areas. Seasonality and Size: July - August. Wingspan ~ 15-19mm Description/ Field Marks: Light yellow forewing. Large oval brown spot covering two small purple reniform. Parallel brown lines following wing margin. This species is most similar to the European species R. sericealis (Scopoli, 1763) in both maculation (though typically with smoother lines) and genitalia (possibly indistinguishable). There is, however, a large amount of variation in both maculation and size with a minority of individuals indistinguishable from sericealis. There is also a large amount of variation in DNA barcode with specimens relegated to two BIN groups, both of which contain both the sericealis and the more common NA phenotypes. Jim Vargo has found both phenotypes in southern Indiana. Those of the "sericealis" phenotype were consistently smaller, suggesting the possibility of subspecies or even full species status. Genitalia: See Sullivan (2009). Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: propinqualis Guenée, 1854 (Rivula) - MONA 1983: 8404

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) Barcode of Life (BOLD) - BIN: BOLD:AAA4282 Barcode of Life (BOLD) - BIN: BOLD:ABZ7274 Forbes, W.T.M., 1954. Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Part III. Noctuidae. Cornell University Agriculture Experimental Station Memoirs, 329: 380. Species Page at Block Island Moths Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum Species Page at Mass Moths Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths Species Page at iNaturalist Sullivan, J.B., 2009. A New Species of Rivula Guenée (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from Southeastern United States. ZooKeys, 9: 3-10; figs. 7, 8, 12. (abstract and PDF)

© David Reed © Troy Bartlett DNA (nr. propinqualis?) - LG © Mark Dreiling

LG – © Jim Troubridge 18mm – © Jim Vargo

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