Grotella blanca Barnes

Grotella blanca Barnes, 1904, Canad. Ent., 36: 239.

Diagnosis: Grotella blanca is nearly identical superficially to Grotella dis. The best superficial feature to separate blanca from dis is the lighter color of the hindwing. The postmedial line is distinctly present on the dorsal surface of the hindwing and contrasts with the lighter color of the wing. Grotella dis and blanca are very closely related. Superficially the two are best separated by the color of the hindwing and the strength of the postmedial line. In dis the hindwing is uniformly suffused with gray-brown. The postmedial line dorsally does not contrast with the rest of the wing. In blanca the hindwing is not as heavily suffused with dark gray-brown and the postmedial line does contrast with the rest of the hindwing. There are only slight differences in the male genitalia. The valve of blanca appears to be slightly narrower and more sinuate than in dis. However the shape of the valve is variable in both species, and this is not a particularly good character to use in separating the two species. The best distinguishing character between the two species is found in the female genitalia. The ovipositor neck in dis has a covering of strong spine-like setae. The ovipositor neck in blanca has at most a fine covering of hair. The ovipositor lobes in dis tend to be slightly longer and more sharply pointed than in blanca, but again this is variable between individuals in both species. Other characters to separate the two species and these two species from septempunctata and sampita are discussed under dis,. Wing length: mean = 11.35 mm, standard deviation = 0.69 mm, n = 10.

Adults have been collected in July and August.

Distribution: This species is known only from southern Arizona and southern California. It has been collected in the Baboquivari, Chiricahua, and White Mountains of Arizona.

Identification Quality: Excellent

Larva: Unknown

Foodplants: Unknown

Similar Species

Grotella dis

Grotella septempunctata

Grotella sampita