Flame Geometrid S3 Male, dorsal | Flame Geometrid S6 Male, dorsal | |||||
Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||
Order: | Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera) | ||||
Family: | Geometer (:Geometridae Ennominae Macariini) iNaturalist Observation | ||||
Species: | Flame Geometrid (Paramelora lychnota) | ||||
This Photo: | S4 Male, dorsal | ||||
Synonym: | Paramelora ammophila | ||||
Thank you (LifeIsAmazing ) for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere Head & body ~11mm, wingspan ~14mm. Males are obviously bipectinate (ie very long pectinations), while females are filiform and have a tendancy to loose antennae. This species is very variable in both line shape and colour. Notice in S7 the dark line towards the back of the wing is much flatter than the other specimens. Similarly S8 appears almost hairy compared to the others. Looking at the DNA bin for this species on Bold, we can see that a number of different species (even Dichromodes) are found in this bin (ie so close to be considered one species). As such, the variation is extensive; far more than shown here. Atlas still shows P. ammophila as a species, yet no records for it. Perhaps the DNA work has thrown into question their placement and work needs to be done to properly understand what is going on. | |||||
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