Recent Rheumaptera sightings in AL
4 species in BG:
The Black & White R. hastata and R. subhastata - to my knowledge have not been sighted in AL - yet. June 2019 in NC so getting closer. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1690764
R. undulata - Territory Range has been the main barrier for AL - per BG comments and maps in BG/MPG/ and iNat https://bugguide.net/node/view/1506666
BUT
We have 2 postings March/May 2019 that look like exact match.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/21503154
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25144149
Joanne Russo reviewed the 1st posting - agrees has the "look" and is "most likely" R. undulata but says dissection is needed to positive confirm. So genus only.
R. prunivorata - By far the most common across Eastern US and trending into Central US. Probably why iNat calls up R. prunivorata and doesn't offer R. undulata. Most of our 28 AL postings are IDd as R. prunivorata with a few at genus Rheumaptera.
ID INFO: BG - Covell (1) describes this species as having a "pattern less sharp and bright" than that of R. prunivorata, "but so similar that the 2 species can best be distinguished by genitalia and larval characteristics." https://bugguide.net/node/view/35019
From Joanne Russo - "Hugh McGuiness says:
undulata is uniformly brown.
prunivorata has a white band in the medial area which continues from costa to inner edge.
Unless the moth is 100% one or the other, we're calling it Rheumaptera sp. "
AL POSTINGS: I steered the 2 "'most likely" R. undulata to genus with comments why.
I see - in our majority R. prunivorata AL postings - some lack the white band from H. McGuiness ID info.
Requesting feedback from @friel @johntrent @johnmorgan if offering back to genus for those clearly lacking the distinctive white band including comments why - or - leave as is.
Adding: Joanne Russo just did same review for #2 likely R. undulata and offers to dissect for any we see like those and can capture.
Comments
Thanks for putting this summary together. If i make it back to Monte Sano this spring and see any more that have characteristics of undulata i'll grab a specimen.
From my photos and the ones I reviewed of R. prunivorata, the white median band is not always present. When it is present, it doesn't always extend from the costa to the inner margin. There are some ID'd photos that show it extending from the costa to about midway of the forewing, like Aubrey Scott's photo on MPG. So I would lean to saying that the overall brownish color and muted contrast of R. undulata and the less brown coloration and sharper contrast of R. prunivorata is the primary characteristic to look for with the white band a secondary characteristic. I noticed that BugGuide has a separate species page for "Rheumaptera prunivorata or undulata." It would be interesting to know what the reviewers saw or did not see that put a moth on that page.
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