Category: Unidentified_Lepidoptera

Unidentified Erebid (Zale lunata?) Ecloses

7/15/2017

The pupa of the unidentified erebid larvae has eclosed. It appears to be Zale, in which case most likely lunata.

After a prompt two weeks, the pupa of the unidentified erebid has eclosed into female as we thought. Coming from a decently sized pupa, the moth is also pretty decent. It is very flat and when disturbed, flies out rapidly. It's almost impossible to catch the thing once it gets active. By the time we got it to sit down, most of the thoracic scales had been rubbed off as seen in the photograph.

We had speculated the Zale genus based on larval appearance, but identification in the Eribidae can get quite tricky as the life histories of many species are not well known. Now that the moth has eclosed, it does indeed appear to be Zale, and if it is, it would most likely be lunata, the lunate zale, based on appearance and location.

Authors
Brian Liang

Comments

Unidentified Erebid (Zale?)Larva L5 Rearing Notes (6/23/17-6/30/17)

6/30/2017

Comments

Rearing notes for an unidentified erebid (Zale?) larva. It was collected on collected on willow (Salix sp.) in Albany, California, June 2017.

Rearing Notes 6/23/17-6/30/17:

6/30:

The prepupa pupated and tanned into a reddish brown; it appears to be female based on the location of the genital groove; the abdomen is narrow and tapered, with a pointy cremaster

6/27:

As suspected, the larva was full grown and has now made a shelter out of the willow leaves and some strands of silk; it now rests inside immobile and much smaller than before as a prepupa

6/26:

The larva fed quite a bit but doesn't look too much larger this time and is slightly sluggish; perhaps about to become a prepupa?

6/25:

The larvae is quite a bit larger again, probably near full grown by now; it seems to have a preference for the newer shoots and avoids the mature, tough ones even when it is the only thing available

6/24:

The larva has grown incredibly, becoming much larger than before; its cuticle has smoothed out and it feeds frequently

6/23:

The larva molted into what we believe is its final instar after spending just four days in the last; the appearance is the same but the cuticle is much baggier and looser, plenty of room to grow a lot larger from the looks

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments

Unidentified Erebid (Zale?) Larva L3/4 Rearing Notes (6/17/17-6/22/17)

6/22/2017

Comments

Rearing notes for an unidentified Erebid (Zale?) larva. It was collected on collected on willow (Salix sp.) in Albany, California, June 2017.

Rearing Notes 6/17/17-6/22/17:

6/22:

The larva has entered apolysis; next instar will surely be the last based on its already large size

6/21:

The larva is yet agian quite a bit larger, and now the cuticle is shiny and tight again

6/20:

Wow, this thing grows incredibly fast, stretching out its cuticle out smooth and growing much larger

6/19:

The larva molted and is quite a bit larger; not sure if this is the final instar or not

6/18:

Larva has grown rapidly, becoming noticeably larger; difficult to tell due to low contrast between head capsule and body color, but it appears to have a displaced head capsule and is in apolysis

6/17:

See Found an Unidentified Larva

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments

Found an Unidentified Larva

6/17/2017

Comments

We found an unidentified larva on willow (Salix sp.).

When we returned from picking willow for our ophthalmicas, we were surprised to discover we had brought along an interesting looking brown larva we could not identify. The larva is quite interesting and cryptic on woody branches, being reddish brown with small black spots. The body is very slender an the first set of prolegs are gone, and the larva crawls in an inchworm fashion. It is quite active and eats sporadically on either edge or the center of the leaf. We don't know the larva's instar, but it probably has at least another one or two based on it small size.

Our best guess for identification is most likely Erebidae based on the missing set of prolegs and general appearance, though it is impossible to say exact species at this point, perhaps not until it reaches adult.

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments

Unidentified Noctuid Larva Rearing Notes (4/12/17-4/26/17)

4/26/2017

Comments

Rearing notes for an unidentified Noctuid larva. It was collected locally on willow (Salix sp.) here in northern California.

Rearing Notes 4/12/17-4/26/17:

4/26:

Unfortunately, the pupa became deformed when it hardened and looks like it will die

4/25:

The prepupa pupated; the teneral pupa is bright yellow

4/20:

The larva has chew holes in the tissue paper, probably trying to burrow into it as if it were soil

4/19:

The larva has stopped feeding and become a prepupa; the body color is much paler and slightly translucent and the pulse is visible; we placed in a pile of tissues in a container for pupation; it now weighs 0.5 g

4/18:

The larva has become much paler and greener than before

4/17:

Larva will excrete waste along with regurgitate if disturbed continuosly

4/16:

Larva is slightly greener again and curls up into a much fatter ball when disturbed as compared to when it was first found (4/12); it was much skinnier then

4/15:

Larva has fed a lot and has grown noticeably larger than before; it has become slightly lighter and greener in color as well

4/14:

The larva feeds strictly at night and eats quite a lot for its size
Unlike the day it was caught, the larva doesn't seem to react as strongly to disturbances as before (regurgitating and curling up), probably from having been acclamated to the captive environment

4/13:

The larva is not very active, staying very still most of the day; when disturbed, it will quickly tense up and curl its head to the side; when very agitated it will regurgitate and thrash its head around

4/12:

See Unidentified Noctuid Larva on Salix

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments

Unidentified Noctuid 2 Rearing Notes (4/21/17-4/25/17)

4/25/2017

Comments

Rearing notes for the larvae of a Noctuid species we cannot identify. They were collected on willow (Salix sp.) at Cerrito Creek (El Cerrito, California).

Rearing Notes 4/21/17-4/25/17:

4/25:

Unfortunately, the larva went missing when we were changing its food

4/24:

The larva seems to resemble Othosia hibisci more and more, but is still more bluish with black spots; perhaps it really is and the species' larva is variable in appearance?

4/23:

The larva has become bluish and looks nearly full grown based on the firmness of its body
We found another one of these unidentified larva on the willows down at Cerrito Creek (El Cerrito, California); it is an instar below the other one but is about to molt

4/22:

Larva is much larger already, with a tighter cuticle and a firmer body; it fed voraciously, stripping the cutting of willow but leaving the main leaf veins

4/21:

The larva molted today, becoming much larger and translucent again; it still has the slim body shape and is distinctly different than the Orthosia hibisci larva

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments

Unidentified Noctuid 2 Rearing Notes (4/14/17-4/20/17)

4/20/2017

Comments

Rearing notes for an unidentified Noctuid larva. It was collected locally on willow (Salix sp.) here in northern California.

Rearing Notes 4/14/17-4/20/17:

4/20:

The larva has entered apolysis and thus will likely be larger than the Orthosia hibisci as it is already almost the size of a full grown larva of that species

4/19:

The larva looks nearly full grown in the instar, which may be the last; it has become slightly bluish in color and the black spots are less visible now as they have become sparser due to the increased size of the body

4/18:

The larva is much larger now and its had is now somewhat sunken into the thorax due to the growth of the body

4/17:

The larva feeds quite a lot on the new growth of willow; it is larger and darker than before

4/16:

The larva molted and is now a pale green with white stripes and black spots; its body shape is quite slim

4/15:

The larva has entered apolysis

4/14:

Found a green Noctuid larva on the willows along Cerrito Creek (El Cerrito, California); it resembles the Orthosia hibisci we found at the same location a week ago, but upon close inspection, it appears to be different Noctuid

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments

Unidentified Noctuid Larva on Salix

4/13/2017

Comments

We have found a Noctuid caterpillar on willow (Salix) that we are unable to identify.

And again with the random caterpillars on willow! We went down to Cerrito Creek again this afternoon to pick up some red alder and ceanothus for our euryalus, and along the way we found another larva we had never seen before on willow. This one looks quite similar to the Orthosia hibisci we found two days ago but resembles more of a cutworm, being light brown with dark brown dashes down the body. If it weren't for all the similar looking larva in the Noctuidae, we would probably just go ahead and call this a large yellow underwing larva (Noctua pronuba), but we can't be sure. The host plant is somewhat confusing as although many Noctuids are polyphagous, most cutworms seem to prefer small herbaceous plants rather than woody plants such as willow.

Authors
Alan Liang

Comments