Google
WWW MPG website only

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Noctuidae
931878 – 10135.4   Sympistis major (Grote, 1881)

© Chris Kotzer
Distribution: Type locality (major): Colorado.
Type locality (deserticola): Morongo Valley, CA.
Similar Species:
  • See 10135.7 Sympistis chons
  • Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy: Oncocnemis major Grote, 1881
Oncocnemis deserticola McDunnough, 1941
Taxonomic Notes: Sympistis major (Grote, 1881) is raised to full species status from synonymy of 10135 Sympistis riparia (Morrison, 1875) in Troubridge & Crabo (1998) and includes as a synonym Sympistis deserticola (McDunnough, 1941) [10135.3] in Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010) based on DNA barcode. Originally described as a variety of 10135 Sympistis riparia (Morrison, 1875), deserticola was raised to full species status in Troubridge (2008) based in part on DNA barcode of a population in the Owens Valley. However, Lafontaine & Schmidt found that specimens from the type locality of deserticola had barcodes matching that of major. The status of the Owens Valley population is unresolved.
References
  • Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Some specimens shown may not be sequenced. DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness not proof of identification.
  • Grote, A.R., 1881. Moths Collected by Prof. Snow in New Mexico, with List of Eudriini. Papilio, 1(3): 33.
  • Lafontaine J.D. & B.C. Schmidt, 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico. ZooKeys, 40: 1-239.
  • McDunnough, J.H., 1941. Oncocnemis Riparia Morr. and its Races. The Canadian Entomologist, 73(9): 171-174.
  • Species Page at BugGuide.Net
  • Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum
  • Species Page at Pacific Northwest Moths
  • Troubridge J. & L. Crabo, 1998. New Oncocnemis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from the Pacific Northwest. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, 95: 46.
  • Troubridge, J.T., 2008. A generic realignment of the Oncocnemidini sensu Hodges (1983) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Oncocnemidinae), with descriptions of a new genus and 50 new species. Zootaxa, 1903: 1-95. (abstract)
Sympistis major
31mm – © Canadian National Collection
Sympistis major
34mm – © Canadian National Collection
Sympistis major
36mm – © Canadian National Collection
Sympistis major
© Canadian National Collection
Sympistis major
LG – © Jim Troubridge
Sympistis major
33mm – © Jim Vargo
Sympistis major
- 36mm – © Tom Dimock

Moth Photographers Group  at the  Mississippi Entomological Museum  at the  Mississippi State University

Send suggestions, or submit photographs to Webmaster — Moth Photographers Group

Database design and scripting support provided by Mike Boone