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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Hepialidae
110017 – 0019   Sthenopis purpurascens (Packard, 1863)
             Four-spotted Ghost Moth

© Robin McLeod
Distribution: Across Canada and apparently south to Arizona along the Rockies. Several specimens collected from Apache County, AZ (Ron Wielgus, in lit., 26iv2015).
Similar Species:
  • Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:
  • purpurascens Packard 1863 (Gorgopis) - MONA 1983: 0019
  • quadriguttatus Grote 1864 (Gorgopis)
  • semiauratus Neumoegen & Dyar 1893 (Sthenopis); Type locality: "Great Slave Lake", Northwest Territory
  • Taxonomic Notes: Sthenopis purpurascens (Packard, 1863): This species includes the former species 0020 - Sthenopis quadriguttatus (Grote, 1864).
    References
    • Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification, and some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.
    • Grote, A.R., 1864. Descriptions of North American Lepidoptera, No. 3. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, 3: 73.
    • Packard, A.S., 1863. On Synthetic Types in Insects. Boston Journal of Natural History, 7: 598.
    • Packard, A.S., 1864. Synopsis of the Bombycidae of the United States. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, 3: 392.
    • Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 13.1f; p. 36. Book Review and ordering
    • Species Page at BugGuide.Net
    • Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum
    • Species page at Moths of North Dakota.
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    © Anthony W. Thomas
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    © Jim Farrell
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    © Jason Dombroskie
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    © Jason Dombroskie
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    93mm – © Chris Grinter
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    © Gary Anweiler
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    © Gary Anweiler
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    CalPhotos – © Jerry Powell
    Sthenopis purpurascens
    LG(cc) Miss. Ent. Mus.

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