''Pyromorpha dimidiata'', the orange-patched smoky moth, is a species of leaf skeletonizer
moth of the family
Zygaenidae found in eastern North America.
Description
Adults
Adult wings are typically held horizontally over the abdomen when at rest. The forewings have two solid color regions: (1) dark gray, sometimes with a blue sheen, in the terminal half of the wing and in the basal half only near the
inner margin
Interior may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas
* ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck
* ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See
* Interior de ...
, and (2) orange in the basal half of the wing except near the inner margin.
Adults can be confused with adults of the unrelated black-and-yellow lichen moth (''
Lycomorpha pholus
''Lycomorpha pholus'', the black-and-yellow lichen moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. It is found in North America from Nova Scotia to North Carolina, west to South Dakota and Texas. The habitat consists of short-grass prairie.
The wingspan ...
'' in the family
Erebidae
The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...
), which has a similar two-toned forewing pattern but a later, summer flight period. Adults of both moth species also resemble the
net-winged beetles of the genus ''
Calopteron''.
Range
The species' occurrence range extends from
Mississippi,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, and
Missouri in the west to
Florida,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and
Rhode Island in the east.
Life cycle
Adults
Adults have been reported from March to August, with most sightings in May and June.
References
Moths described in 1854
Zygaenidae
{{Zygaenidae-stub