Lower figure courtesy of J.D. Lafontaine, Agriculture Canada

Ponometia altera (Smith)

Tornacontia altera Smith, 1903, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., 29:209.

Graeperia conocharodes Hampson, 1910, Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British Museum, 10:679, text fig. 193.

Diagnosis: Ponometia altera is an easily identified species. The general appearance of the forewing is white with light gray suffusion beyond the postmedial line. The lower half of the postmedial line consists of a pair of black, wavy lines. The space between them is yelllow-green. The reniform is a distinct black oval filled with yellow-green. The oribicular is almost always present and is a sharp, black dot. The fringe is white, but there are two diffused gray patches, one near the wing apex and the other near the inner angle. The male hindwing is pure white, although with weak gray along the upper half of the outer margin. Wing expanse from base to apex in one selected individual 11 mm.

Distribution: (Based only on material in the USNM). This species has a wide distribution. It is found in the southwestern United States from western Texas to southern California. The species also occurs throughout many parts of Mexico.

Identification Quality: Good

Larva: The larva has been described by Comstock and Dammers, 1933, Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 42: 82.

Foodplants: Comstock and Dammers, ibid., record Ericameria sp. (Rabbitbush) (Asteraceae), a shrubby composite as a foodplant. Haplopappus sp. (HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants, Natural History Museum).

Distribution map based on specimens in the USNM

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