Metarranthis Pictorial Key

This is a work in progress, feedback welcome.

1a. Forewing PM line with sharp angle … 2

1b. Forewing PM line without sharp angle … 5

2a. Terminal area of wings strongly mottled … 3

2b. Terminal area of wings washed out, not strongly mottled … 4

3a. Wings pale, base color light tan … M. indeclinata

3b. Wings darker with some purplish shading … M. refractaria

4a. Wings dark red to purple; smaller than any other Metarranthis … M. homuraria

4b. Wings varying from very pale to dark brown, but never with dark rusty red base color; size typical of Metarranthis … M. hypochraria (including M. mestustata)

5a. AM and PM lines composed of silvery metallic scales; lines often interrupted; dark reddish to purplish base color … 6

5b. Not as above … 7
6a. Moth larger than any other Metarranthis, found along the Atlantic or Gulf coasts as far north as the Carolinas … M. lateritiaria

6b. Moth typical in size of Metarranthis, found along the Atlantic Coast from the Mid-Atlantic northward to New England … M. near lateritiaria

7a. Hindwings with contrastingly bright yellow costas, rest of wings rusty orange … M. obfirmaria

7b. Not as above … 8
8a. Bright yellow median areas contrasting with bright pink basal and terminal areas, range restricted to the Midwest … M. mollicularia

8b. Not as above … 9
9a. PM lines smooth and straight to evenly curved … 10

9b. PM lines sinuous or with distinct bulges … 11

10a. Moth reddish brown, restricted to Atlantic and Gulf coastal habitats … M. pilosaria

10b. Moth dull brown, occurring in both coastal and some inland habitats in the Northeast … M. apiciaria

11a. Dark median and basal areas contrasting with pale median areas … 12

11b. Median area not contrastingly paler than the rest of the wings … 13

12a. Wings heavily reticulated … M. angularia

12b. Wings appearing smooth and not heavily reticulated … M. amyrisaria (in part)

13a. Base color of wings gray without any hint of rusty red coloration, restricted to boreal habitats across Canada and extreme northern USA … M. warneri

13b. Not as above … 14

14a. A small smoothly patterned Metarranthis with an even dusting of darker scales throughout the wings; mainly Northeastern … M. amyrissaria (in part)

14b. A larger more mottled Metarranthis … 15
15a. A tan-colored species that flies in the early spring (mainly April) in the Northeast and Appalachan regions … Metarranthis new species 1

15b. Mostly late-spring to early-summer flying; extremely variable and widely distributed across the continent, not always easily separable from M. amyrissaria where both occur … M. duaria

Posted on August 28, 2023 06:58 PM by paul_dennehy