Moth Photographers Group – Desmia maculalis

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

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Crambidae

80a1065 – 5160 Desmia maculalis Westwood, 1832

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Description/ Field Marks:	A significant white spot on the head is, according to the Covell Field Guide, a characteristic mark of Desmia maculalis. Brian Scholtens had previously informed Bob Patterson that this is not a reliable character and that two species (D. maculalis and D. funeralis) cannot be distinguished in typical dorsal view photos. It would be necessary to see mouth parts at high magnification or examine genitalia to make specific determinations. It is best to consider photos of these species as representing a species group. More recently, he commented "The character that I use is the extent of the white patch on the underside of the abdomen. D. funeralis individuals have a solid white patch on the underside of the abdomen on segments 1-5 (or may have a slight break on segment 3). D. maculalis individuals have a broken white patch, where about 1/2 of segments 3 and 4 are clearly dark. Basically, maculalis looks striped on the underside, whereas funeralis looks like it is basically solid white."
Similar Species:	Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:	maculalis Westwood, 1832 (Desmia) - MONA 1983: 5160 Type locality: Nova Scotia.

References

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification, and some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.
Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history)
Species Page at Block Island Moths
Species Page at BugGuide.Net
Species Page at Mass Moths
Westwood, J.O., 1832. Desmie, Desmia. Magasin de Zoologie, 2: [2]pl. 2

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