Macaria sulphurea - Hodges#6283

Rich cream-yellow with maroon brown markings, consisting of two to three wedge shaped spots along the forewing costa, prominent discal spots, and variable PM and submarginal lines. The forewing PM band is usually light and spotty, but always widens to a patch at the anal margin. Fringe entirely maroon-brown, unlike the similar M. occiduaria which has the dark forewing fringe restricted to the apex. Sexually dimorphic, females with slightly reduced wings, although not to the same extent as andersoni, simplex and occiduaria. Ferguson (1953) named the subspecies amboflava from western Canada (type locality Calgary) to describe our yellow populations, which are, according to Ferguson, quite distinct from the smaller, greyish eastern sulphurea. (AEC) Regarding sulphurea and amboflava , Ferguson states: Speranza sulphurea is a sexually dimorphic, eastern, bog-dwelling species, of which the male is nearly the color of Speranza argillacearia [more nearly immaculate mouse gray] . (MONA Fascicle 17.2, pg.82) Speranza amboflava is the obvious sister species of sulphurea, replacing the latter species in the West. It lacks the conspicuous sexual dimorphism of the eastern species; both sexes are bright yellow and closely resemble females of sulphurea, although usually larger. (MONA Fascicle 17.2, pg.84) However, more current data than Ferguson (2008) does have sulphurea collected in the pacific northwest and there is a growing number of sequenced male individuals from that population that are quite yellow, and quite well marked. As more individuals of the two species are sequenced, we're finding that the external characteristics are less reliable than previously thought--or so it seems based on the genetic evidence. So distinguishing yellow individuals by photo in overlapping distribution locales may prove difficult or impossible at this time.