Moth Photographers Group – Lycomorpha pholus

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

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Erebidae

930201 – 8087 Lycomorpha pholus (Drury, 1773)

Black-and-yellow Lichen Moth

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Larva and Host Plants:	Host familiy: Chaetophoraceae[Protococcaceae][Algae] Physciaceae[Lichen] Lichens[none_specified]. Host genera: Protococcus[Algae] Physcia[Lichens]. Host extended: Lichens (Beadle & Leckie 2012). (Kimberley & Douglas 2025)
Similar Species:	Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:	pholus (Drury, 1773) (Sphinx) - MONA 1983: 8087 ssp. a. pholus (Drury, 1773) (Sphinx) ssp. b. miniata Packard, 1872 (Lycomorpha)

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced.
Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history)
Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 46.29m; p. 266. Book Review and ordering
Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online)
Species Page at BugGuide.Net
Species Page at E. H. Strickland Museum
Species Page at Mass Moths
Species Page at iNaturalist

Moth Photographers Group at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at the Mississippi State University

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