Copablepharon columbia moth (Copablepharon columbia)

Physical description

This Copablepharon moth is in the Family Noctuidae.  

Ecology and life history

The Copablepharon columbia moth is one of three Copablepharon species described in 2004 in eastern Washington; the others are C. mutans, and C. viridisparsa hopfingeri. All three moths inhabit small, geographically isolated sand dune complexes in the Columbia River Basin--rare ecological systems that are threatened by several factors. There has been little study of the biology and life history of these species. Host plants are not confirmed.

Copablepharon moths are habitat specialists that rely on loose, well-drained soils, especially sand. They are restricted to inland sand dunes in an arid shrubsteppe setting. The sands in all cases are glacially derived, and wind action provides soil disturbance that supports native vegetation. Beach and sand dune sites that have been stabilized from introduced plants or by other actions typically lose much of their native vegetation. These sand substrate habitats are rare in the Pacific Northwest.

Copablepharon moths complete a single life cycle annually (univoltine). They are sedentary, nocturnal moths that do not stray far from their restricted habitats and host plants. C. columbia adults are present in early June.

Geographic range

The distribution of this species is limited by its dependence on rare and highly restricted ecological systems. C. columbia is restricted to a small number of sand dune sites in the semiarid Columbia Basin in eastern Washington. This moth is known from only a single sand dune complex, located on the southwest shore of Moses Lake (Grant County), and despite extensive sampling in this region, most specimens have been collected from a single dune within this site.