Moth Photographers Group – Mursa phtisialis

Digital Guide to Moth Identification

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Erebidae

930713 – 8477.2 Mursa phtisialis (Guenée, 1854)

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Distribution:	Suggested by Heppner as a species straying into, but not breeding in, Florida.
Larva and Host Plants:	Host familiy: Malvaceae. Host genera: Malva. (Shropshire & Douglas 2025)
Similar Species:	Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.)
Synonymy:	phtisialis (Guenée, 1854) (Physula) - MONA 1983: [NEW] calisalis Walker, 1859 (Mursa) disparatalis (Walker, [1866]) (Aganzagara) subrufa of authors; (not Warren, 1889) (Paramimetica) misappl.
Taxonomic Notes:	Mursa phtisialis (various forms) reported from southern Florida and Texas. This species includes as a synonym Mursa subrufa of authors; (not Warren, 1889) in Lafontaine & Schmidt (2010), ZooKeys, 40: 124.

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.
Lafontaine J.D. & B.C. Schmidt, 2010. Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico. ZooKeys, 40: 1-239.
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 iNaturalist

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

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