Digrammia, GUMPPENBERG, 1887

Scoble, Malcolm J. & Krüger, Martin, 2002, A review of the genera of Macariini with a revised classification of the tribe (Geometridae: Ennominae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 134 (3), pp. 257-315 : 307-311

DIGRAMMIA GUMPPENBERG

(Figs 57, 58, 209–226)

Digrammia Gumppenberg, 1887 . Type species: Phasiane mellistrigata Grote, 1873 . North America .

Asmate Gumppenberg, 1887 . Type species: Phasiane rippertaria Duponchel, 1830 . France. [Listed as a junior synonym of Digrammia by Parsons et al., 1999.]

Spinuncina Wehrli, 1937 . Type species: Phasiane rippertaria Duponchel, 1830 . [Junior objective synonym of Asmate Gumppenberg. ( Asmate is a junior subjective synonym of Digrammia .)]

Selected reference. McGuffin (1972), provided a detailed treatment, with illustrations, including colour, of the 18 species of Digrammia occurring in Canada.

Description

Head. Chaetosemata extended across head as a narrow band. Antenna filiform in both sexes.

Wings ( Figs 209–214 ). Mostly greyish or brownish moths, often with two strong, dark lines enclosing a broad medial fascia.

Male genitalia ( Figs 215, 217, 219, 221 ). Uncus: beaklike at apex; with several strong spines subapically, not quite as paired horns. Gnathos: medial element pointed. Valva: sacculus pointed; spine at base of valva, sometimes also near division of sacculus and costa. In D. nigricomma (Warren) and its relatives ( Figs 219, 221 ): uncus beak-like narrowing to a point; horns present, subapical; broad in heliothidata Guenée, from Haiti, with apex excavated. Gnathos in form of a weak band, but with well-developed medial element in heliothidata. Valva: divided; sacculus not completely symmetrical or distinctly asymmetrical with sacculus of opposite valva.

Pregenital abdomen of male ( Figs 216, 218, 220, 222 ). Sternum A3 with pecten. Sternum A8 excavated deeply, U-shaped or almost cleft, in nigricomma -group octavals asymmetrical ( Figs 220, 222 ).

Female genitalia ( Figs 223–226 ). Sterigma wellsclerotized. Bursa copulatrix: ductus bursae narrow or fairly broad with antrum; antrum bearing complex sclerotizations in nigricomma ; corpus bursae without signum.

Diagnosis. The beak-like apex of the uncus and the shape of the valva enables Digrammia to be distinguished from other genera. In the nigricomma -group the valvae are asymmetrical.

Distribution. North and South America, Europe.

Foodplants. Genera of foodplants include: Juniperus , Cupressus (Cupressaceae) ; Larix (Pinaceae) ; Lotus , Gleditsia , Robinia , Tephrosia (Leguminosae ( Fabaceae )); Larrea (Zygophyllaceae) ; Eupatorium (Compositae ( Asteraceae )); Celtis (Ulmaceae) ; Populus , Salix (Salicaceae) ; Quercus (Fagaceae) ; Alnus , Betula (Betulaceae) ; Ribes (Grossulariaceae) .

Comments. Digrammia is adopted as the senior name as it has page priority over Asmate .

The genus has many species in North America, which are being revised by Dr D.C. Ferguson (in prep.). Digrammia also occurs in Europe. The similarity of the Palaearctic and Nearctic species of Digrammia is underlined by the observation that the European species D. rippertaria belongs to the same species-group as D. mellistrigata from Canada.

Digrammia is defined here in a broader sense to incorporate D. nigricomma and its relatives. Although members of the nigricomma -group have distinctive, asymmetrical valvae, their inclusion is based on the similar shape of the uncus and the subapical position of the uncus spines (prominent enough to be called horns in D. nigricomma ). In the female, both groups lack a signum on the corpus bursae and, possibly, share similarities in the sclerotizations of the ductus bursae.

Number of species. Over 50 species of Digrammia were listed by Parsons et al., (1999).

Figures

Figures 209–214. Digrammia species: 209, D. hypaethrata; 210, D. maricopa; 211, D. eremiata; 212, D. denticulata; 213, D. meadiaria; 214, D. nigricomma.

Figures 215–222. Digrammia species, ♂ genitalia and sternum A8 of ♂: 215, 216, D. mellistrigata; 217, 218, D. ripper-

Figures 223–226. Digrammia species, ♀ genitalia: 223, 224, D. nigricomma; 225, 226, D. rippertaria.