BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 37
Sumac bushes in that wash and these eggs are
very small.)
I found that all of the egg masses I had located
before were hatched. So farther up the wash I
went, hoping to Þnd more. At some point I
noticed what looked like some scale on a
sumac twig. I had been looking at lac scales on
mesquite and knew that there were several
species, each using (for the most part) a
different species of host plant. So a closer look
was in order. No, not scale. A mass of small
caterpillars in an area about one and a half
inches long and one inch wide. Three photos
from that observation are shown here. The leaf
in the background in the top photograph is
Littleleaf Sumac, so roughly 1.5 inches long.
Using the resources at BugGuide and images
from Butterßies and Moths of North America
(BAMONA) I was able to narrow my search to
the genus Datana. Included in my search
results were these Datana eggs on BugGuide.
The curator at BAMONA concurs that my
observations are of Datana perspicua (Grote &
Robinson, 1865), Spotted Datana (Hodges
#7908), based on image, host plant, and range
match. The curators at BugGuide have agreed
to the genus level, that it is Datana. Video of
this observation may be viewed here.
Of interest to me is that this species is in the
genus Datana. In the April 2023 (pp. 9-19) and
October 2023 (p. 73) issues of this journal we discussed the
process of identifying Datana neomexicana from an
observation near Kingston. During that effort we noted the
apparent defensive tactic of raising both ends of the body
when threatened. When I Þrst located the mass of Datana
perspicua they were moving quite vigorously (see video).
Once they became aware of my presence they froze, not
moving for at least 15 minutes. This was such a signiÞcant
behavior that I had to place a note in the video, indicating
that it was video, not a photograph.
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