Paramiana perissa Nye

Hadena laetabilis Smith, 1899, Canad. Ent., 31: 263.
NOTE: A junior primary homonym of Hadena laetabilis Zetterstedt [1839]. The objective replacement name is Paramiana perissa Nye 1975.

Paramiana perissa Nye, 1975, Generic Names of Moths of the World, 1: 368.
NOTE: Proposed as an objective replacement name for Hadena laetabilis Smith, 1899.

Diagnosis: Paramiana perissa is one of the most distinctive species of Noctuidae in North America. The basal and subterminal regions as well as the reniform spot and orbicular spot are blue against the dark brown ground color of the rest of the forewing. The blue scaling, however, can fade to dull white in old and worn specimens or material that has become wet. The hindwing of both males and females is basically white with a dull brown outer margin and a distinct postmedial line. Both the antemedial and postmedial lines of the forewing are black, distinct, and strongly scalloped. The claviform spot is an open circle with a lower black streak running through the median area. The front of the head lacks a central prominence. In the male genitalia the clasper of the valve is elongate, slightly s-shaped, and running in the long axis of the valve. The vesica is tubular without swellings or diverticula. The spines in the vesica are very long with a separate group of spines at the apex of the vesica. Wing length: mean = 13.41 mm, standard deviation = 0.31 mm, n = 10.

Adults have been collected in August and September.

Distribution: Paramiana perissa has been collected in southwestern Texas, New Mexico, and most of Arizona except for the northern parts of the state. The species is not variable. However the blue patches of the forewing basal and subterminal areas are fugitive and fade to an off-white.

Identification Quality: Excellent

Larva: Unknown

Foodplants: Unknown

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