Nemoria tuscarora Ferguson, 1969. [7030]
Nemoria tuscarora male, collected Garrett Co., MD July 2005.
|
Nemoria tuscarora, ex ovum, parent female collected Garrett Co., MD.
|
This relatively less common Nemoria species was described from specimens collected in North Carolina. It is also known from Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. At least one specimen is reported from the Berlin Wildlife Area in Portage County, Ohio. Larvae appear to be host specific, feeding on Hypericum (St. John's Wort) species.
In wing markings, the species greatly resembles N. mimosaria, which likely overlaps it in some parts of its range. Like mimosaria, the wings of tuscarora show simple convex am and pm lines, white fringe, and absence of any red terminal line. The abdomen, however, lacks the distinct white spot on the first abdominal segment. Genitalic morphology and DNA sequences suggests a closer alliance with the more southern species, Nemoria elfa, Nemoria catachloa and Nemoria outina.
It is likely that this species exists in small populations at other unreported localities where appropriate host plant populations are established. In 2005, a Nemoria tuscarora adult was collected in Pennsylvania in Fayette County. The moth appears to be rather common in habitats where the host plant is well established. In June and early July of 2005, we collected this species in good numbers in wetland areas of Garrett Co., Maryland where Hypericum densiflorum was abundant alongside Vaccinium and other plant species of the high elevation central Appalachian wetlands community. Nemoria tuscarora larvae (below, at right) are quite distinctive among North American Nemoria in their green and red coloration and their somewhat reduced dorsolateral abdominal protuberances. For additional images of immature stages of Nemoria tuscarora, click here: Nemoria tuscarora eggs, larvae and pupae.
In wing markings, the species greatly resembles N. mimosaria, which likely overlaps it in some parts of its range. Like mimosaria, the wings of tuscarora show simple convex am and pm lines, white fringe, and absence of any red terminal line. The abdomen, however, lacks the distinct white spot on the first abdominal segment. Genitalic morphology and DNA sequences suggests a closer alliance with the more southern species, Nemoria elfa, Nemoria catachloa and Nemoria outina.
It is likely that this species exists in small populations at other unreported localities where appropriate host plant populations are established. In 2005, a Nemoria tuscarora adult was collected in Pennsylvania in Fayette County. The moth appears to be rather common in habitats where the host plant is well established. In June and early July of 2005, we collected this species in good numbers in wetland areas of Garrett Co., Maryland where Hypericum densiflorum was abundant alongside Vaccinium and other plant species of the high elevation central Appalachian wetlands community. Nemoria tuscarora larvae (below, at right) are quite distinctive among North American Nemoria in their green and red coloration and their somewhat reduced dorsolateral abdominal protuberances. For additional images of immature stages of Nemoria tuscarora, click here: Nemoria tuscarora eggs, larvae and pupae.
|
Nemoria tuscarora, final instar larva, reared ex ovum on Hypericum densiflorum.
|