File:Zanclognatha cruralis-obscurpiennis (See notes by Ken Childs) (14310400556).jpg

Mothing Night 5/31/14 Ken wrote: "Things I learned in the USNM yesterday Volume 5. OK so I looked at drawers of both Zanclognatha cruralis and obscuripennus, and I could find no marks that always work to diagnose them. After twenty minutes of going bleary eyed, here is what I wrote in my notes: "In general, obscurpiennis is more gray brown, and it is smaller. Sometimes the light colored st line is without a shade on the proximal side, which seems to never be the case with cruralis. The st line is often bright white or luteous, but some cruralis can show this. I did not notice that the pm line was slightly wavy as is often claimed as true for obscuripennis. The pm line was equally straight in both species." If one has a collection in front of them, most fresh moths can probably be determined based on ground color, but I doubt that worn specimens can be determined. I also have the following in my notes from another time when I tried to figure out these two species: "I think all the photos of obscuripennis at MPG are incorrect except Patterson's living shot. All the others, including Vargo's spread specimens, are cruralis IMHO." The photo at CBC is correct.