Sthenopis auratus
| Sthenopis pretiosus | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Hepialidae |
| Genus: | Sthenopis |
| Species: | S. pretiosus |
| Binomial name | |
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Sthenopis pretiosus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1856) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Sthenopis pretiosus, the gold-spotted ghost moth, is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It was first described by Herrich-Schäffer in 1856. It can be found in found Brazil, Venezuela and in the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.
Sthenopis pretiosus was independently discovered, named and described at least three times:
In 2015, Carlos G. C. Mielke and John R. Grehan concluded that Hepialus auratus Grote, 1878 and Phassus eldorado Pfitzner, 1906 are junior and subjective synonymies of Sthenopis pretiosus Herrich-Schaffer, [1856], and applied the rule of priority to change H. auratus and P. eldorado's names to Sthenopis pretiosus.
The wingspan is 60–70 mm. The forewings are yellowish-brown with several gold spots and an indistinct whitish, pinkish, or silvery band overlaid with small angular patches. The hindwings are light yellowish-orange and unmarked.
Food plants for this species include Athyrium, Dryopteris, and Matteuccia.
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