three-spotted fillip

not listed

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

not listed

Three-spotted fillip is a common, small, carpet moth. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains but is mostly absent from the deep south. The larvae were at first reported to feed on the leaves of maples (Acer). A later study (Wagner et al., 2001) found them feeding on clearweed (Pilea) and attempts to rear them on maple resulted in their death. Adults are found from April to September in deciduous and mixed forests and woodlands.

Adults have a 11⁄16″ to 15⁄16″ (18 to 24 mm) wingspan.

The forewings are broad and are disproportionately large for a moth this size. They are pale yellowish tan with three conspicuous, well-spaced, dark brown patches along the leading edge (costal margin). The patch nearest the wingtip is smaller than the other two.

The hindwings are much smaller and slightly paler.

Wingspan: 11⁄16″ to 15⁄16″ (18 to 24 mm)

Deciduous and mixed forests and woodlands

Probably two generations per year: April to September

Adults are active at night and will come to lights. The wings are held flat when at rest.

Clearweed

Sources

4, 21, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82, 83.

Tribe
The tribe Dyspteridini was first described the German entomologist Jacob Hübner in 1825. It was later synonymized with Hydriomenini in 1917, then with Lobophorini in 1948. A recent morphological review of tribes in Larentiinae (Viidalepp, 2011) resurrected the tribe Dyspteridini based on morphology and on a molecular study published earlier that same year (Sihvonen et al., 2011).

The correct tribal placement of the genus Heterophleps is a matter of debate. It was formerly placed in the tribe Trichopterygini. A recent molecular phylogenetic study of the Family Geometridae (Brehm et al., 2019) moved the genus to the tribe Dyspteridini. The move has not been universally accepted. ITIS places Heterophleps in the tribe Trichopterygini, BugGuide.net places it in Lobophorini, and iNaturalist places it in Dyspteridini.

Heterophleps triguttaria Three-spotted Fillip moth

Heterophleps triguttaria, three-spotted Fillip moth, found in a shaded area on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI. Photo was taken on July 16, 2021.

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Heterophleps triguttaria, three-spotted Fillip moth, found in a shaded area on Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI. Photo was taken on July 16, 2021.