Xerochlora masonaria (Schaus, 1897). [7081]

Xerochlora masonaria, adult male, collected Abiquiu, Rio Arriba Co., NM.

Note the distinctive bluish sage-green color of the live moth at left. When fresh, the coloration of Xerochlora species is very striking, but in pinned and stored specimens it soon fades to a dull brown. The adult male [pictured here also shows the large white patch on the abdomen and weak but visible pm and am lines on the forewing, shaded by an adjacent region of slightly darker green just inside the faint and discontinuous white line markings. 

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Xerochlora masonaria. This species may be considerably larger than other Xerochlora species of the southwest, and often shows an angulate indentation on the margin of the hindwing. The color of unfaded specimens is a sage gray green shade, and the abdomen may be marked with white spots. Regular patterning of the cream colored forewing costa with transverse bands of purple brown scales is a common characteristic of X. masonaria. Ferguson (1985) reported the species has been collected in southeastern counties of Arizona and from Grant and Hidalgo counties in New Mexico.

Xerochlora masonaria, adult male, collected Abiquiu, Rio Arriba Co., NM, 19-Jun-2007.