How about another unidentified Gelechiidae from the same location as the previous specimen (nr. Prescott Arizona). I’m taking a stab at this moth being in the genus Chionodes – and it is superficially similar to the species C. continuella. Thankfully there is a monograph of this group (Moths of America North of Mexico, fascicle 7.6) and I will be able to dissect and hopefully arrive at a better identification. The genitalia of moths are wonderfully sclerotized structures that can provide a wealth of characters used for identification. I’ll have to be sure to share images of what the genitalia look like soon!
Hope it all goes well, best of luck (not that you need it).
I can’t help but wonder how many people will search for, um, photos of humans using one of your keywords, and will arrive at this post. That amuses me. =)
Kiitos! Hope all is well in beautiful CA. It’s awesome to see the effect a few key words can play in generating tons of page views. Vaikka, there really isn’t a better way to say moth penis (talk about gratuitous) haha! I think the #1 googled phrase I’ve used so far is “Richard Branson is stupid”.