''Viridiseptis'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

moth genus in the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

erected by Tomas Mustelin and Lars G. Crabo in 2015. Its only species, ''Viridiseptis marina'', was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1874. It is found throughout coastal

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and in south-western

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

as far north as Douglas County. It is widely distributed in southern California. It is found in many habitats such as coastal chaparral, mountain forest, mountain-desert transition zone, and occasionally in the deserts from sea level to at least 2000 meters. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is about 29.5–35 mm. The forewings are granular mossy green, occasionally yellowish green, with a mottled dark-gray to black and light-green pattern that obscures all but the darkest parts of the lines and spots. The darkest areas are a small patch at the base of the trailing edge of the wing, the cell and fold in the medial area, a bar on the costa preceding the subterminal line, and terminal area opposite the reniform spot. The relatively small reniform spot and round orbicular spot are filled with peripheral whitish and central green scales. The basal, antemedial and postmedial lines are double, black filled with green, and the subterminal line is green. All are sinuous and appear incomplete. The hindwings are light brown gray with a darker border. Adults are on wing from April to early July. The larvae feed on '' Nemophila'', '' Pholistoma auritium'', '' Lilja'' and '' Lithophragma'' species.

Etymology

The genus name is derived from ''viridis'' (meaning green) and ''septis'' by analogy to '' Aseptis''.

References

Xylenini Moths described in 1874 {{Xylenini-stub