Insects
Moths (Lepidoptera)
Tortricid moths (Tortricidae)
Sighting 4414452

Merophyas therina

a Tortrix Moth at Melba, ACT

Merophyas therina at Melba, ACT - 24 Oct 2021 12:10 AM
Merophyas therina at Melba, ACT - 24 Oct 2021 12:10 AM
Merophyas therina at Melba, ACT - 24 Oct 2021 12:10 AM
Merophyas therina at Melba, ACT - 24 Oct 2021 12:10 AM
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Identification history

Merophyas therina 28 Dec 2021 ibaird
Merophyas therina 28 Dec 2021 donhe
Meritastis pyrosemana 27 Dec 2021 kasiaaus

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6 comments

kasiaaus wrote:
   28 Dec 2021
I'm not sure Don. See some of the ALA sightings at https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:fd6c27dc-bb92-4345-aa0f-467baaef0d54#gallery
ibaird wrote:
   28 Dec 2021
I'm supporting Don in this. Postings on the ALA may not be refereed.
kasiaaus wrote:
   28 Dec 2021
I accept that you know better but I still have doubts. Have a look at Merophyas therina (Clepsis therina) on iNat and ALA. Hmm...
kasiaaus wrote:
   2 Jan 2022
This one still worries me. Can you check is against both species again Ian?
ibaird wrote:
   2 Jan 2022
This is the form I look for when identifting M. pyrosemana : https://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/249f0c9f-6d41-446e-9455-d5386b946c0b Bold Systems shows this form consistently, but it also shows another blacker, broad banded form which I suspect may be evidence of the sexes being different (Bold doesn't tell you the sexes). This is the form I believe we are calling Merophyas. therina: https://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/1507f08f-ab25-47dd-9bb1-bae69812574d See also http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/tort/therina.html I don;t think ALA sightings can always be relied on because I understand the IDs are often provided by the observer and not refereed by a second or third party.
kasiaaus wrote:
   2 Jan 2022
Thanks Ian. It's interesting that when I look at all the evidence my conclusion is still Meritastis pyrosemana. There are may factors that I think point me in this direction: colour (more grey), smoothness of the background colour, size (I think it's slightly bigger but that's impossible to see in a photo) and the pattern has elements that match it better as well. I am, however, giving up now :-)

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  • 12mm to 25mm Animal size

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