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Donald Trump Moth
Neopalpa donaldtrumpi
Neopalpa donaldtrumpi is a moth species of the genus Neopalpa occurring in Southern California and Northern Mexico. It was described in 2017 by Iranian-Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari. Known for its yellowish-white head scales being reminiscent of US president Donald Trump's hair, the moth was given its name because Nazari stated that he wanted "to bring wider public attention to the need to continue protecting fragile habitats in the US that still contain many undescribed species."
From the article Neopalpa donaldtrumpi on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The upper surface of the N. donaldtrumpi forewings is orange-yellow except for dark brown patches on the fringe and anterior portions of the wing. The length between forewings is 3 mm (0.12 in) to 4.6 mm (0.18 in). Hindwings are pale buff, with dark fringes. The wings have similar coloration for both males and females. Its antennae are about two-thirds of its wingspan and its head is covered with yellowish white scales, which inspired the moth's name. Compared with N. neonata, the other species in the genus, N. donaldtrumpi male genitalia structures are smaller and female genitalia possess very few small setae.
Range & habitat
While the closely related N. neonata occurs throughout much of California, Baja California and Northwest Mexico, specimens of N. donaldtrumpi have so far been found only in the Northern half of Baja California and Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
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Every page naming Neopalpa donaldtrumpi in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 823586.