Can the caterpillars be found in bio soil crusts? I collect adult Cisthene angelus by the thousands along the riparian corridor of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, but their caterpillars are nowhere to be found. There's not a ton of lichen throughout the river corridor, it depends on which rock layers are exposed (seems like the lichen is mostly on limestones). What can you tell me about these elusive caterpillars? Where have you found them?
Cisthene larvae are nocturnal and probably feed on tree/wood lichens more often than rock/lithosol lichens, especially in the desert Southwest where the moths are often common in areas where rock lichens are sparse or absent. I have only ever found them at night on tree trunks in southeastern AZ.
Christian - I will keep this in mind and look for tree lichens on my next trip down Grand Canyon. There are not too many trees in the riparian zone, I'm going to check the mesquites and cat claw acacias in the old high water zone for lichens. Do you have any further advice for finding them? Will the caterpillars be easiest to spot with white or UV light? Do you know of anything they are attracted to? Are the eggs large enough to be seen with the naked eye?
Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Thanks so much for your response!
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