''Gnophaela vermiculata'', sometimes known as the police-car moth or green lattice, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. The species was first described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1864. It is found in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States and in western parts of North America, from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

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 ...

, east to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and north to

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

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 . Adults are on wing in late summer and fly during the day. There is one generation per year. The larva is born with yellower patches but eventually grows into the adult coloring. As larvae, they feed on ''

Mertensia ''Mertensia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants with blue or sometimes white flowers that open from pink-tinged buds. Such a change in flower color is common in Boraginaceae and is ca ...

'', ''

Lithospermum ''Lithospermum'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. The genus is distributed nearly worldwide, but most are native to the Americas and the center of diversity is in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Species are ...

'' and ''

Hackelia ''Hackelia'' (stickseeds) is a genus of plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It includes 54 species found in North America, western South America, temperate Eurasia, and Australia. 12 species are native to California California is a ...

'' species. Adults feed on nectar of various herbaceous flowers, including '' Cirsium'' and '' Solidago''. It can be confused with '' Gnophaela latipennis'' because of the similarity in their pattern. The latter species has smaller pale areas on its wings and more rounded forewing margins.

References

* * * Gnophaela Moths of North America Fauna of California Moths described in 1864 Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote {{Pericopina-stub