The mountains of southeastern Arizona have been a favourite collecting site for lepidopterists for generations. Yet new species continue to be described at the rate of about three per year.
One of the latest discoveries is the largest member of the genus Lithophane, a group of particularly large and beautifully coloured moths. Lithophane leeae has a forewing length 25% larger than the previous record, measuring 25mm, and more extensive and brighter pink coloration. So far known from a single female collected at 7,700ft elevation in mid-June in the Chiricahua Mountains, this species is predicted to feed on pine, like related species.
Most collecting is done later in the season when monsoon rains bring out moths and moth collectors alike. It may be either an early-season flier or a stray from northern Sonora, Mexico.
Quentin Wheeler is director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, Arizona State University