Lithophane abita

Males and females similar in all external characters except size. Head: color usually light to medium slate gray, occasional specimens dark gray; pronounced frontal tuft; a wide lateral black band of scales on center of head between eyes defined above and below by a bright white line of scales, upper line at a position above eye and below antenna: antenna filiform, simple, slender, and acuminate, similar gray in color, more so dorsally and near base of shaft; labial palp with black scales laterally and gray scales ventrally and dorsally; labial palp peppered with either black or gray scales with white tips; ventral surface of palp with long scales forming a pointed tuft projecting anteroventrally slightly beyond apex of palp. Thorax: dorsal color similar to that of head and forewing ground color except for wide transverse dark brown band on prothoracic collar with upper margin defined by distinct black line with upper scales forming a bright white line; anterior part of thorax with dorsal partially divided tuft of scales; ventral color of thorax light pinkish brown, gray, or fuscous, with area between legs and wings entirely black; outer side of foreleg coxa a mixture of black and white scales (appearing gray to naked eye), with a short group of longitudinal black scales emanating from base; scales on the inner side of coxa brownish gray with a fine longitudinal line of black scales; femur covered with black and white scales (appearing gray to naked eye) with black scales more concentrated near trochanter; scales on coxa of midleg a mixture of gray and white, except near trochanter, where scales form a band of black followed by a band of white; similar black and white bands continue along remainder of midleg femur, tibia, and tarsus; hindleg similar in color and appearance to midleg. Abdomen: dorsal color fuscous with pink suffusion throughout; ventral color same as dorsal. Forewing: dorsal ground color matching that on dorsum of head and thorax; maculation varying from strongly marked to barely distinguishable; weakly marked specimens appear to have been on the wing longer, but do not necessarily appear exceptionally worn; most specimens with very faint, sometimes barely distinguishable, bifurcating black basal dash; antemedial (am) line mostly faint, deeply zigzagged, defined in paler gray and partly bordered on outer edge by black, except in area of fold where am line sharply defined in black forming an outward projecting “V” that extends into prominent, black dash in fold parallel to lower margin of wing and extends to postmedial (pm) line; pm line deeply serrated but faint, partly defined by pale gray and dark gray scales; subterminal line also faintly defined in pale and dark gray but usually bordered in subterminal area by series of diffuse, dark-gray, wedge-shaped spots; terminal area concolorous with medial area, or very slightly darker with wing veins partly defined in black; terminal line incomplete, dark gray, usually stronger between veins; orbicular spot a rounded or slightly oblong paler gray shade defined mainly by the darker gray shading surrounding it; a prominent crescentic black line extends from outer lower edge of orbicular spot and around lower margin of reniform spot; reniform spot barely distinguishable as a paler gray outline above black line on lower margin of spot; forewing with fuscous-brown scales in area between reniform and orbicular spots, and in lower part of reniform. Ventral color of forewing pale luteous brown on basal half of wing, pinkish brown on distal half and forming a darker marginal shade; reniform spot diffuse, dark brown, usually crescent-shaped; terminal line defined by faint black scales accentuated with conspicuous black scales forming v-shaped wedges between veins; fringe gray. Wing length: male: 16.7 mm (15.7–18.0, n = 25); female: 17.1 mm (15.6–18.4, n = 25). Hindwing: dorsal color fuscous with pinkish suff usion throughout; fringe contrastingly lighter slate gray, especially at base of fringe; terminal line usually expressed as diffuse darker brown lines most often only between veins on outer margin of wing; discal spot crescentic, darker than ground color but barely discernable. Ventral color entirely light pink with numerous tiny brown scales sprinkled over entire surface; terminal line generally similar to that on dorsal surface; discal spot very large, brownish-black spot in center of wing; postmedial line a faint but discernable dark, broad line.
Male genitalia (n = 6): genital capsule (Fig. 5) with supporting ring modified, so enlarged vinculum and pleural sclerite occupy basal ⅔ of ring, presumably to support greatly enlarged base of valve; tegumen proportionally reduced to dorsal ⅓ of ring; uncus short, cylindrical, expanded at apex; juxta a very large diamond-shaped plate occupying most of area inside genital ring; valves short and triangular, very large at base and tapering to narrow apex; valves asymmetrical; right sacculus large, twice as long as cucullus; cucullus reduced with sclerotized finger-like process at base of cucullus on dorsal margin of valve; apical part of cucullus reduced to rounded, almost membranous flap without any trace of a corona; digitus massive, arising from costal margin of valve, covering basal b of cucullus, then bending dorsally to project posterodorsally from end of valve as a long, tapered, saber-like spine; clasper reduced to Y-shaped sclerite at apex of valve with ampulla projecting beyond costal margin of valve as lightly sclerotized, finger-like process; left valve similar to right valve, except sacculus not as enlarged dorsally at base, costal process at base of cucullus triangular, part of left digitus projecting from valve ¼ as long as saber-like extension of right digitus, and apex of left digitus blunt and rounded. Aedeagus (Fig. 6) cylindrical, heavily sclerotized, about 6 × as long as wide; vesica about 1½ × as long as aedeagus; basal 1/6 as wide as aedeagus; apical part inflated and sac-like, curving in an arc 180° to project anteriorly; vesica with two short diverticula, one short preapical on dorsal surface and one on ventral surface at apex; apex of vesica with two subapical patches of spine-like cornuti, one dorsal and one ventral. Female genitalia (n = 5) (Fig. 7): corpus bursae with prominent postmedial constriction giving it a figure 8-shape; without signa; posterior part of corpus bursae with short, lightly sclerotized, appendix bursae to left of ductus bursae; ductus bursae about ⅓ as long as corpus bursae, sclerotized posteriorly but more lightly sclerotized anteriorly and wider at corpus bursae; ostium bursae sclerotized, tapered anteriorly, truncated abruptly at membranous connection with ductus bursae; anterior apophyses slightly shorter, but much stouter, than posterior apohyses, about ¼ × longer than ring of abdominal segment VIII; anal papillae lightly sclerotized, rounded at apex, about as long as membranous connection to abdominal segment VIII; covered by mixture of short and longer hair-like setae.

Within Louisiana, Lithophane abita is single brooded with adults on the wing from November 21 to March 29 (Fig. 8). Elsewhere the flight season extends from 17 October (Maryland) to early April (Mississippi and North Carolina). Lithophane abita has been confirmed from the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The suspected host plant is bald cypress, Taxodium distichum Rich. In Maryland the three known localites are in bald cypress swamps within a few kilometers of the northernmost site of naturally occurring bald cypress trees. In Florida, this moth is often found in or very close to pond cypress domes (R. M. Gillmore, pers. comm.). A single Florida specimen was labeled as captured at fruit bait.