The Agaristine moths we are studying this year appear to be specialists on a small group of flowering plants in the family Nyctaginaceae, essentially wild “four o’clocks” and their cousins. The common garden four o’clock (also known as the “Marvel of Peru”) is named Mirabilis jalapa. Below are some of the Nyctaginacae we observed in the field in NM and AZ.
Boerhavia coccinea [Nyctaginaceae]
Mirabilis longiflora [Nyctaginaceae]
Mirabilis sp. in the Cochise Stronghold, Cochise Co., AZ
Mirabilis sp. growing under Juniper trees at Ben Lilly Memorial in the Gila NF, Grant Co., NM
