''Ethmia petersterlingi'' is a
moth
Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
in the family
Depressariidae
Depressariidae is a family of moths. It was formerly treated as a subfamily of Gelechiidae, but is now recognised as a separate family, comprising about 2,300 species worldwide.
Subfamilies
Depressariidae consists of ten subfamilies:
* Acriinae ...
. It is found in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, where it has been recorded from both sides of the Cordillera Volcánica de Guanacaste at altitudes between . The habitat consists of rain forests.
The length of the forewings is for males and for females. The ground color of the forewings is whitish with blackish markings and one distinct spot at the base. There is an oblique, thin dark mark from before the mid-costa connecting with a longitudinal blotch from the middle to the termen. The hindwing ground colour is whitish, but darker at the margins.
The larvae feed on ''
Cordia alliodora
''Cordia alliodora'' is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It is commonly known as Spanish elm, Ecuador laurel, cypre or salmwood. It can reach 35 m in height.
Taxonomy
The s ...
''.
Etymology
The species is named in honor of Peter Sterling, professor emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania and resident of Panamá, for his coaching and encouragement of the early days of
Área de Conservación Guanacaste growth, and for his support of the blossoming of school children biodiversity education in Panamá.
References
Moths described in 2014
petersterlingi
{{Ethmiinae-stub