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This is the fourth lesson in my moth anatomy series. There are many different markings that can appear on the wings of moths. Among the more prominent and consistent markings are a pair of horizontal lines that traverse the forewings. (If you read the first post you’ll know what forewings are.) I’ve highlighted these two lines on just the right wing so that you can see the wing without my markup on the left. The yellow line that traverses the “upper” half of the wing, closer to the head, or the “base” of the wing, is called the antemedial line. This is commonly abbreviated “AM line.” The blue line which traverses the “lower” half of the wing is called the postmedial (“PM”) line.
It is mainly important to know the names of these lines for communicating about identification. For instance, you could say that the PM line bends sharply upward as it nears the outer edge of the wing on this moth. The species shown in this post is a Bent-lined Dart (Choephora fungorum). It’s name comes from that bend in the PM line.
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A new moth for the year, and it's a lovely one! This is a male, one of two in the moth-trap this morning. Females are paler, almost transparent, compared to the male.
The Chinese Tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) is an invasive species in the United States and it is a nuisance in some areas where it is pushing out native species or growing in areas that wouldn’t ordinarily have trees.
The Chinese Tallow Leaf Miner moth (Caloptilia triadicae) is also an invasive species which uses the tree as its host plant. The larvae tunnel through the leaves in little mines that you can clearly see in this photo. Curiously the moth is more widespread in the US than the tree, which leads me to believe this species can use at least one other plant as a host.
Random bonus info: I took this photo of the leaf mines at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. This is the school that the young Ruby Bridges famously integrated in 1960.
#ChineseTallow #ChineseTallowLeafMiner #Caloptilia #CaloptiliaTriadicae #InvasiveSpecies #HostPlant #lepidoptera #moth #moths #MothsMatter #TeamMoth #MothsOfOklahoma #macrophotography #naturephotography