Male

Female

Ponometia venustula (Walker)

Acontia venustula Walker, 1865, List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 33:783.

Acontia discoidalis Walker, 1866, List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 35:1962.

Thalpochares fortunata Grote, 1882, Canad. Ent., 14:171.

Thalpochares perita Grote, 1882, Canad. Ent., 14:171.

Orobena subcitrinalis Hulst, 1886, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., 13:157.

Diagnosis: Ponometia venustula is a cute, sexually dimorphic species from the southernwestern United States and northern Mexico. The male is light brown with an olive tint. The maculation is very simple and nearly uniform in color except for the postmedial line. The postmedial line is brown on the outside and accented with white on the its inner side. The upper third of the line fades to obscurity. The terminal line is present as a fine, lighter line. The female is a brighter orange-brown without the olive tint of the male. The postmedial line is a broad, curved line filled with light gray. Wing length from base to apex in one selected individual 8 mm (male), 9 mm (female).

Distribution: (Based only on specimens in the USNM). Ponometia venustula occurs throughout the southwestern United States stretching from eastern Texas in the east to eastern and central Arizona in the west. The species is also known from northern Mexico and Baja California.

Identification Quality: Excellent

Larva: Unknown

Foodplants: Unknown

Distribution map based on specimens in the USNM

Ponometia venustula

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