Noctuidae - Stiriinae

 

 

 

Thurberiphaga diffusa (Barnes)

Alaria diffusa Barnes, 1904, Canad. Ent., 36:238.

Thurberiphaga catalina Dyar, [1920] 1919, Insecutor Inscitiae Menstruus, 7:188.

Diagnosis: Thurberiphaga diffusa is yellow with reddish-pink markings along the outer margin of the forewing and in the general region of the postmedial line. All other maculation is indistinct. A frontal process is present and resembles an upside down heart. Wing length from base to apex: mean = 15.54 mm., standard deviation = 0.65 mm., n = 10.

Distribution: This species is known only from Cochise, Santa Cruz, and Pima Counties in southern Arizona. There is a single specimen in the USNM labeled "Hot Springs, Green River, Washington", but this specimen is undoubtedly mislabeled. Some individual variation in size and the amount of pink on the forewing is present.

Adults are fairly common in collections and have been collected from late July to middle September.

Identification Quality: Excellent

Larva: The larva has been described by Crumb (1956) from "Thurberia" (Gossypium thurberi Todfaro) (Malvaceae), a wild species of cotton sometimes known as tree cotton. The larva are borers in the stems of the plant. Stem borers are unknown in this part of the noctuid phylogenetic tree, although they occur elsewhere in the family. The larvae are described as pink, tapering caudally, and covered with coarse granules. No specimens have been reared from cultivated cotton.

Foodplants: Gossypium thurberi (Malvaceae).

 

Thurberiphaga diffusa

 

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