A primavera chegou ao norte da Califórnia e mariposas estão na asa. Eu tomei uma rápida viagem até o sopé da Serra no fim de semana e de subir as encostas íngremes acima do rio americano. Above is pictured Xanthothrix ranunculi f. albipuncta (Noctuidae: Stiriinae). It happens to be sitting on a beautiful california poppy. The hostplant, contudo, é Coreopsis stillmanii and grows in small patches of serpentine soils on southern facing slopes along the central valley. Here is a Xanthothrix sitting on the host.
This moth was originally described as a form of X. ranunculi em 1925 (form roughly equals subspecies today), and then completely forgotten about and unseen until 1990. It was left out of a major revision of the subfamily, so the legitimate status as a subspecies or full species remains unknown. Stay tuned.
