Blacklight-attracted
Guides
Prochoerodes
Prochoerodes is a genus of geometer moths in the family Geometridae, established by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1883. The genus comprises approximately 24 described species distributed primarily in North America. At least one species, Prochoerodes truxaliata, has been documented feeding on coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) as a caterpillar. Research has examined Prochoerodes onustaria as a potential biological control agent for Brazilian peppertree, though it was determined unsuitable for this purpose. The genus is regularly encountered in moth surveys and blacklighting events in western North America.
Proxenus mindara
Rough-skinned Cutworm Moth
Proxenus mindara, known as the rough-skinned cutworm moth, is a noctuid moth species described by William Barnes and James Halliday McDunnough in 1913. It belongs to the cutworm or dart moth group within the family Noctuidae. The species is found in North America and has been documented at blacklighting events in California. Its MONA or Hodges number is 9648.
Scaralina
Scaralina is a genus of planthoppers in the family Fulgoridae described in 2024. The genus contains 15 species distributed from Idaho to Panama, with most species occurring at elevations above 1000 meters. Adults are strongly attracted to blacklights and are most diverse in the Madrean Sky Islands bioregion.
Scaralina aethrinsula
Scaralina aethrinsula is a planthopper species in the family Fulgoridae, described in 2024. It was formerly confused with three related species under the misapplied name Alphina glauca. The species occupies montane habitats across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is associated with oak woodlands.
Scaralina cristata
Scaralina cristata is a planthopper species in the family Fulgoridae, distinguished by its association with oak habitats at higher elevations. It occurs from Arizona south through the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico, overlapping in range with congeners S. aethrinsula and S. metcalfi. Adults are readily attracted to blacklights, facilitating detection and study. The species was formally described in 2024, resolving decades of taxonomic confusion under the misapplied name Alphina glauca.
Smodicum
Smodicum is a genus of longhorn beetles (family Cerambycidae) in the tribe Smodicini, subfamily Cerambycinae. The genus was established by Haldeman in 1847. Species in this genus are attracted to ethanol-based baits and have been documented in blacklight collections in riparian woodland habitats. One species, Smodicum cucujiforme, has been recorded from northwestern Oklahoma.
Stenomorpha furcata
Stenomorpha furcata is a darkling beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, subfamily Pimeliinae, tribe Asidini. Originally described by Champion in 1892, it was transferred to the genus Stenomorpha by Smith, Miller, and Wheeler in 2011 as part of a taxonomic revision that established the informal 'furcata species group' within Stenomorpha. This group comprises four species: S. furcata, S. roosevelti, S. wickhami, and S. granicollis. The species has been documented in Texas, USA, where it has been observed at night near blacklight setups in juniper chaparral habitat.
Telegeusis
Telegeusis is a genus of beetles in the family Omethidae, previously classified in its own family Telegeusidae. The genus contains approximately 12 described species distributed in the southern United States, Mexico, and Panama. Adults of at least one species, T. texensis, exhibit nocturnal flight activity and are attracted to blacklight traps. The genus was established by George Henry Horn in 1895 with T. debilis as the type species.
Tracheops bolteri
Tracheops bolteri is a species of geometrid moth in the family Geometridae, subfamily Ennominae. It was described by Hulst in 1896. The species is known from North America and has been documented at blacklight stations during bioblitz surveys in Colorado, including at Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Like other geometrid moths, adults are nocturnal and attracted to light sources.
Trichadenotecnum castum
common barklouse
Trichadenotecnum castum is a uniparental barklouse species in the family Psocidae, described by Betz in 1983. It is one of three obligately parthenogenetic species derived from the biparental ancestor T. alexanderae. Populations are composed exclusively of females that reproduce via obligate thelytokous parthenogenesis. The species belongs to the T. alexanderae species complex, a group of closely related barklice distinguished primarily by reproductive mode and subtle morphological differences.
Xanthotype attenuaria
attentive crocus soldier moth
Xanthotype attenuaria is a geometrid moth known by the common name attentive crocus soldier moth. It is one of several species in the genus Xanthotype, a group commonly referred to as crocus geometer moths. The species was described by Swett in 1918 and is distributed across North America. Like other members of its genus, it cannot be reliably identified to species from photographs alone due to the visual similarity among congeneric species.
Xestia infimatis
cutworm, dart moth
Xestia infimatis is a species of cutworm moth in the family Noctuidae, described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1880. It is found in North America and is assigned MONA/Hodges number 10972. As a member of the genus Xestia, it belongs to a diverse group of noctuine moths commonly known as dart moths or cutworms.
Zeugomantispa minuta
green mantisfly, green mantidfly
Zeugomantispa minuta, commonly known as the green mantisfly, is a small predatory insect in the family Mantispidae. Adults are sit-and-wait predators that use raptorial forelegs to capture prey. Larvae are specialized parasitoids that develop within spider egg sacs, feeding on spider eggs. The species occurs across the Americas from the Caribbean through Central and North America to South America.