Little white lichen moth

Clemensia albata

''Clemensia albata'', the little white lichen moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Packard in 1864. It is found in eastern North America, west across boreal Canada to south-eastern British Columbia. The range extends along the Pacific Coast south to Monterey Bay in west-central California.
Clemensia albata Clemensia albata (Little White Lichen Moth). The larvae feed on the alga Protococcus viridis. This alga grows on the smooth tree bark such as birch (Betula) and maple (Acer). The larvae are also reported to feed on the lichens Parmelia and Lobaria pulmonaria. See also: Clemensia albata, An Algal Feeding Arctiid. http://images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1980s/1981/1981-35(1)34-McCabe.pdf Noel McFarland (). Larval Foodplant Records for 106 Species of North American Moths. Journal of the Le[pidopterist's Society. Vol. 29, No. 2:112-125. "Clemensia alhata Pack. (det. BB )-Ar.33. *W. OREGON: Captive larvae (autumn-spring) readily accepted the locally-common foliose lichen, Loharia pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm.-STICTACEAE (1962)." http://images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1975/1975-29(2)112-McFarland.pdf Clemensia albata,Geotagged,Little white lichen moth,Minnesota,Moth,Summer,United States,lichen,lobaria,parmelia

Appearance

The length of the forewings is 10–11 mm. The forewings are pale white and brown-grey peppered with darker scales. The hindwings are whitish, smudged with light grey. Adults are on wing from late June to early September.
Clemensia albata Dark enough to be considered Clemensia umbrata which is one of three species (Clemensia albata Packard, C. umbrata Packard, stat. rev., and Clemensia ochreata Schmidt & Sullivan, sp. n.) formerly lumped into a single species, Clemensia albata. Determination to species is possible by genital dissection and DNA analysis. https://zookeys.pensoft.net/lib/ajax_srv/article_elements_srv.php?action=download_pdf&item_id=26048 These three species are an example of parapatric speciation where "there is no specific extrinsic barrier to gene flow. The population is continuous, but nonetheless, the population does not mate randomly. Individuals are more likely to mate with their geographic neighbors than with individuals in a different part of the population’s range. In this mode, divergence may happen because of reduced gene flow within the population and varying selection pressures across the population’s range." https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evo101/VC1dParapatric.shtml This may well be Clemensia umbrata which is more common in northern MInnesota than Clemensia albata. http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=8098 http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=8098.2 Clemensia albata,Geotagged,Lepidoptera,Little white lichen moth,Summer,United States,insect,moth

Naming

*''Cissura albata albata''
⤷ ''Cissura albata umbrata'' Packard, 1872
Little White Lichen Moth (Clemensia albata) At a 365nm UV light at a dense mixed forest edge. Clemensia albata,Geotagged,Little white lichen moth,Summer,United States

Distribution

All of the United States and southern Canada.
Clemensia albata Arctiinae,Clemensia albata,Erebidae,Geotagged,Lepidoptera,Lithosiini,Little white lichen moth,Noctuoidea,Summer,United States,insect,moth,moth week 2019

Behavior

Adults fly from March to October in the south; June to September in Ohio; July and August in Alberta and Quebec.
Little White Lichen Moth (Clemensia albata) At a 395nm UV light setup at the edge of a dense mixed forest. Clemensia albata,Geotagged,Little white lichen moth,Summer,United States,moth week 2019

Habitat

Moist mixed wood forests - and probably other habitats, considering its vast distribution.
Little White Lichen Moth - Clemensia albata Habitat: Attracted to a 395 nm LED light in a rural area 2021(39) Clemensia,Clemensia albata,Erebidae,Geotagged,Little white lichen moth,Spring,United States,lichen moth,moth

Food

The larvae feed on arboreal lichens, especially those growing on conifers. They have also been recorded feeding on algae.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/42018
http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu/species.php?hodges=8098
Tim L McCabe. Clemensia albata, An Algal Feeding Arctiid. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 35(1), 1981, 34-40. http://images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1980s/1981/1981-35(1)34-McCabe.pdf
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyErebidae
GenusClemensia
SpeciesC. albata
Photographed in
United States of America