Raphia frater

Raphia frater
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Raphia
Species: R. frater
Binomial name
Raphia frater
Grote, 1864[1]
Synonyms
  • Raphia personata (Walker, 1865)
  • Certila flexuosa Walker, 1865
  • Raphia frater var. coloradensis Putnam-Cramer, 1886
  • Raphia pallula H. Edwards, 1886
  • Raphia cinderella Smith, 1903
  • Raphia elbea Smith, 1908
  • Raphia piazzi Hill, 1927

The Brother (Raphia frater) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from Nova Scotia west, across the forested regions of Canada to British Columbia, south to Mississippi in the east. The southern limits in the west are uncertain due to confusion with several closely related species or forms.

Geographic distribution and phenotypic variation of Raphia frater subspecies: green – subsp. piazzi; pink – subsp. abrupta; black – subsp. frater; blue – subsp. coloradensis; yellow – subsp. cinderella. Multi-coloured circles indicate transitional populations and/or phenotypically intermediate specimens between respective subspecies. a R. f. piazzi; b R. f. abrupta; c R. f. abrupta; d R. f. abrupta; e R. f. abrupta; f, g R. f. frater; h R. f. abruptafrater intermediate i R. f. abruptafratercoloradensis intermediate from highly variable population in Cherry Co., NE; j R. f. coloradensis; k R. f. coloradensis; l R. f. coloradensis; m R. f. coloradensis; n R. f. cinderella; o, p R. f. coloradensisfrater intermediates; q R. f. elbea; r R. f. elbea; s R. f. elbea. All specimens are males

The wingspan is 33–38 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July depending on the location. There is one generation per year.

The larvae mainly feed on aspen, but have also been recorded from alder, birch, cottonwood and willow.

Subspecies

References

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