Primavara a venit la nordul Californiei și molii sunt pe aripa. Mi-am luat o excursie rapid până la poalele muntilor Sierra peste week-end și a urcat pe pantele abrupte de mai sus râul american. Above is pictured Xanthothrix ranunculi f. albipuncta (Noctuidae: Stiriinae). It happens to be sitting on a beautiful california poppy. The hostplant, totuși, este Coreopsis stillmanii and grows in small patches of serpentine soils on southern facing slopes along the central valley. Aici este o Xanthothrix sitting on the host.
This moth was originally described as a form of X. ranunculi în 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.
