powelli

G. powelli Davis and Pellmyr

N.B.: This entity is known to be polyphyletic; changes will be added after a formal revision.

Adult Characteristics

Wing expanse 7-12 mm. Forewing in female white, heavily banded with rusty confluent patches into a checkerspot pattern. Male with white to pale gray forewing, lightly suffused with a sparse scattering of light brown scales, pattern obsolescent if present at all. Hindwing paler than forewing in both sexes.

Comparison with similar species

Both sexes resemble G. reticulata but the latter is considerably larger and occurs in more moist habitats.

Host, oviposition, and larval feeding habits

Feeds on Bowlesia incana (Apiaceae). The female cuts and oviposits into young fruits, and the larva feeds on the developing seeds for the first one or two instars. The life history of later stages is unknown.

Female ovipositing into a Bowlesia fruit at stem node; picture on right shows paired fruits at node of a plant.

Geographic distribution

Known from the coastal range between the San Francisco Bay area and the San Gabriel Mountains, and in the south-central Sierra Nevada of California.

Habitat

In dry to slightly moist grassy areas in open oak woodland, particularly at the oak-pine transition. The host plant often grows tucked under Artemisia californica, and these shrubs serve as perch sites for males. Females generally stay on the host, and are rarely seen flying. Elevational range, 300-850 m.

Typical habitat of G. powelli in Santa Barbara Co., California, USA;
shrub above trunk is an Artemisia.

References

Davis, D.R., O. Pellmyr & J.N. Thompson. 1992. Biology and systematics 
          of Greya Busck and Tetragma n. gen. (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae). 
          Smiths. Contrib. Zool. 524:1-88.

Holotype in USNM.

About this page

Olle Pellmyr
E-mail: pellmyr@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu.
Dept of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Box 1812-B Nashville, TN 37235, USA

Title illustrations: Male and female from Santa Barbara Co., California.