For those who are checking off species names from the longer list...We have passed over Hemileuca grisea since it's widely regarded as the same species as H. oliviae. We have dismissed H. gunderi as a subspecies of H. hera. We have considered H. harrisi as a subspecies of H. eglanterina. H. ilmae is now considered to be the same animal as H. burnsi. H. iroquois will be considered when we come to H. menyanthevora. But although H. juarezia is an obscure species about which little has been published online, entomologists have not been lumping it together with another Hemileuca species. Juarezia is a distinct species, all right. In fact it's so distinct that about half the web pages that mention this species put it in the genus Coloradia.
Being classified as a Coloradia implies that the moth is large, the most visible parts of its wings are gray, and its caterpillars eat some sort of pine needles. It does not necessarily imply that the caterpillars are venomous, though juarezia's also being classified as a Hemileuca or occasionally even an Automeris implies that juarezia caterpillars are venomous.
The name juarezia indicates that the moth is found mostly in Mexico, most often at altitudes of about three thousand feet.
A thousand yards is not an unreasonable distance to climb, so there's no excuse for the science sites having no information about or photos of juarezia. But they don't. Apparently the moth looks similar enough to Hemileuca maia that, into the last decade, scientists assumed it was a southwestern race of maia. DNA studies say it's different enough from maia to be recognized as a species. So far, nobody seems to have published any research on how its differences from maia affect this moth's life.
Photo by Ron Brecklin. Living moths have tail ends. The tail end of this museum piece was removed, presumably for dissection.
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