Gorgeous Moth Given New Name After A Century Of 'Mistaken Identity'

Gorgeous Moth Given New Name After A Century Of 'Mistaken Identity'

Gorgeous Moth Given New Name After A Century Of 'Mistaken Identity' On July 31, entomologist Peter Huemer put a century-long case of mistaken identity to bed.   In a study published in the scientific journal Alpine Entomology, Huemer collected and carefully studied 100 butterflies.  He found that a pink, yellow, and amber dappled moth long mischaracterized as the Carcina quercan , or widespread oak carcina moth, was actually its own distinct species.  “ Carcina quercana …is one of the best known micromoths in Europe and has always been considered easy to identify due to its distinctive external features,” observed Huemer, who works at the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck, Austria.  “Due to its striking appearance, it was historically described by only a few authors under different names, the last valid one about 150 years ago.” By conducting extensive genetic surveys, Huemer confidently identified the moth as a “clearly separated new species,” which he named Carcina ingr…