Grammia arge, (DRURY), 1985

Schmidt, B. Christian, 2009, Taxonomic revision of the genus Grammia Rambur (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Arctiinae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 156 (3), pp. 507-597 : 518-519

GRAMMIA ARGE (DRURY) (FIGS 4, 41, 72, 97)

Phalaena arge Drury, 1773: 35 , pl. 18, f. 3.

Bombyx dione Fabricius, 1775: 572 .

Noctua incarnatorubra Göze, 1781: 241 .

Apantesis nervosa Neumögen & Dyar, 1893: 142 . Arctia arge var. strigosa Stretch, 1906 : pl. 8, f. 20. Apantesis arge (Drury) ; Franclemont, 1983: 117. Grammia arge (Drury) ; Ferguson & Opler, 2006: 10.

Type material: Phalaena arge : based on a female holotype from New York [lost] .

Bombyx dione : described based on an unknown number of specimens [lost?].

Noctua incarnatorubra : described based on an unknown number of specimens; location of type material unknown.

Apantesis nervosa : male holotype in USNM according to Smith (1938a) [not examined] .

Arctia arge var. strigosa : secondary homonym of Bombyx strigosa Fabricius (1793) , a subjective junior synonym of Grammia quenseli Rambur.

Diagnosis: The lined forewings and broad pale band filling the costal cell distinguishes G. arge from all other Grammia . Internally, the vesica of the aedeagus exhibits distinctly larger basal diverticula compared to members of the subgenus Grammia . See diagnosis under G. doris for comparison to that species.

Description: Head – Palps black, frons and vertex pale- to pinkish-buff; male antennae moderately bipectinate, rami averaging 2.86 ¥ 10 - 1 mm, (N = 6); female antennae slightly biserrate; dorsal scales predominantly pale buff, black towards apex; eyes well developed. Thorax – Vestiture black with wide, palebuff borders on vertex, patagia, and tegulae; sides of ventral thorax black, pale buff to light pinkish buff centrally at base of coxae; coxa and femur reddish pink, ringed with black apically and basally; tibia and tarsi pale buff and black. Abdomen – Dorsal ground pale pink-buff, apex paler; medial and lateral markings black; medial band thin; pale whitish buff ventrally, lateral black markings reduced, sometimes absent. Forewing – Male forewing length averaging 18.3 mm (N = 6), females noticeably larger, averaging 23.8 mm (N = 5); black dorsally, vein lines complete, cubital vein line expanded into band; lines and bands whitish buff, rarely with pinkish cast; antemedial and medial band usually expressed only as broad triangular mark in discal cell, rarely absent; postmedial band broad, rarely reduced and/or fragmented; postmedial very strongly angled at M 3, such that postmedial and subterminal band form an ‘X’; subterminal and postcubital well developed; costal cell nearly always entirely pale; fringe and anal margin concolourous with pale markings, anal margin band broad, often confluent with anal vein line; ventral markings similar, but dark markings slightly paler, and distinct pinkish red marginal outline; sexes similar, although females significantly larger as noted above. Hindwing – Ground colour pale pinkish white, females slightly pinker; black markings highly reduced or absent; variable in extent; antemedial spots when present not streaked basad, more clearly expressed ventrally; medial spot small but distinct and crescentic; postmedial and subterminal elements reduced or absent, fragmented by pale vein lines; ventral markings and colours similar to dorsum, but with distinct pinkish red marginal terminal line; sexes similar. Male genitalia – Distal portion of valve gradually tapered, caudoventral margin slightly concave, apex rounded; clasper poorly to moderately developed, median ridge moderately developed; juxta slightly longer than wide, with u-shaped dorsal cleft extending halfway to base; pronounced medial dorsoventral groove; uncus broad-based, process evenly tapered to point, three to four¥ as long as width of base; aedeagus relatively short and wide, curved dorsad at apex; vesica extending right laterad; basal chamber and diverticulum reduced; medial diverticula enlarged and prominent, particularly first medial; distal chamber large and irregular in shape, scobinate; vesica approximately twice as long as aedeagus. Female genitalia – Ductus bursae unsclerotized, lacking lateral plate near ostium; corpus bursae oblong, four to five¥ width of ostium bursae; four moderately sized, rounded signa; signa coarsely scobinate; appendix bursae evenly coiled; posterior apophysis slightly longer than papillae anales.

Biology: This species is multivoltine throughout most, if not all, of its range. It occurs in May and August in southern ON, and March through to October in the south-eastern USA. Grammia arge is often a common species of dry woodlands, meadows, pastures, and grasslands. Both sexes come to light.

Distribution: Occurs from ON, QC, and New England south to FL, west to CO ( Ferguson et al., 2000) and ND; occurs south into Mexico, and Smith (1938a) reported a single record for Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Molecular variation: Sequences for 14 specimens of G. arge were available, representing four populations [ON (2), NC, PA]. The five haplotypes formed a discrete cluster, and exhibited low divergence. Grammia arge haplotypes were most similar to those of G. doris , with a minimum interspecific difference of 4.9% ( Table 2, Fig. 133 ).

Figures

Figure 133. Neighbour-joining tree of cox1 ‘barcode’ haplotypes of Grammia species and Holarctia obliterata. Two-letter codes correspond to the species name in a given lineage. The Kodara Lineage includes Grammia quenseli (QE1), Grammia williamsii (WI1), and Grammia virgo (VI14) haplotypes. Haplotypes of the Western and Eastern lineages are shown separately in Figs 134 and 135, respectively. Numbers in parentheses indicate number of sampled specimens.