Atteva aurea (Fitch)

Wilson, John, Landry, Jean-François, Janzen, Daniel, Hallwachs, Winnie, Nazari, Vazrick, Hajibabaei, Mehrdad & Hebert, Paul, 2010, Identity of the ailanthus webworm moth (Lepidoptera, Yponomeutidae), a complex of two species: evidence from DNA barcoding, morphology and ecology, ZooKeys 46 (46), pp. 41-60 : 50-54

Atteva aurea (Fitch)

Deiopeia aurea Fitch, 1857: 486 . Type locality: Marion Co., Florida, USA, by neotype designated below.

Poeciloptera compta Clemens, 1861: 526 . Type locality: Texas, USA. Type not located, possibly lost. Synonymized by Berg, 1880: 100 (under punctella ).

Oeta aurera Stretch, 1873: 240 . Misspelling.

Oeta compta var. floridana Neumoegen, 1891: 123 . Type locality: Upper Indian River, Florida, USA (USNM) [Holotype male examined ( Figure 6A ); genitalia on slide USNM 15942 prepared by JFL; attempt to recover DNA from abdomen failed]. Synonymized by Heppner and Duckworth, 1983: 26 (under punctella ). Re-instat- ed as a valid species by Becker (2009). See Remarks below.

Atteva edithella Busck, 1908: 85 . Type locality: Maverick County, Texas, USA (J.D. Mitchell collector) (USNM type # 11362) [Holotype female examined ( Figure 4A ); genitalia on slide USNM 15940 prepared by JFL;DNA recovered from abdomen]. Synonymized by Heppner and Duckworth, 1983: 26 (under punctella ).

Atteva exquisita Busck, 1912: 86 . Type locality: Mobano, Coahuila, MEXICO (R. Muller collector, August) (USNM type # 14528) [Holotype male examined ( Figure 4B ); genitalia on slide USNM 92745 prepared in 1949]. Synonymized by Heppner and Duckworth, 1983: 26 (under punctella ).

Atteva ergatica Walsingham, 1914: 328 . Type locality: Rio Sarstoon, BELIZE (Blancaneaux collector) (BMNH) [Holotype female examined ( Figure 4C ); genitalia on slide BMNH-Microlep 31548 prepared by JFL; DNA recovered from abdomen]. Synonymized with pustulella by Becker (2009). The type locality is ecotone between dry forest and rain forest, the kind of habitat occupied by ACG A. aurea where it overlaps with the distribution of A. pustulella .

Atteva microsticta Walsingham, 1914: 330 .Type locality:Tehuacan, Puebla, MEXICO (R Muller collector, March 1907) (USNM) [Holotype female examined ( Figure 4D ); genitalia on slide USNM 92765 prepared in 1940; barcoding attempted using one leg but failed. Th e species name is spelled “microstigma” on the black-bordered type label in Walsingham’s handwriting.] Synonymized with pustulella by Becker (2009).

Forewings. The forewings are predominantly orange, with four bands of yellow spots outlined in black. Compared with pustulella the orange is more extended and the black outlines surrounding the white spots are thinner ( Figure 5A ). Th ere is a marked amount of variation in the number and size of pale spots but in spite of this variation aurea is clearly separated from pustulella ( Figures 4–6 ). See Remarks below.

Habitat and food plants. Caterpillars are commonly encountered in ACG dry forest feeding on Simarouba glauca (100+ records) and in the ecotone between dry forest and rain forest, found feeding on both S. glauca and S. amara . The aurea population has extended at least 20 kilometers into ACG rain forest in anthropogenic artificially more xeric conditions, feeding on S. amara as well. It is found to the north of Costa Rica in dry forest to semi-desert ecosystems, and north to southeastern Canada, feeding on Ailanthus altissima .

Distribution. In North America, distributed wherever its non-native host occurs but vagrant adults are regularly found at its northern limit in eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec beyond the host range.

Remarks. There is significant variation in forewing coloration as attested by several synonyms. More pronounced variants with reduced forewing black linings ( edithella , exquisita ) were described from semi-arid regions of northern Mexico and from Texas. Among barcoded specimens is an aberrant one (CNCLEP00027027 from Maryland) in which the forewing black reticulation failed to develop except asymmetrically in one small area of the right forewing ( Figure 5D ). That specimen was collected together with many others which displayed the normal coloration ( Figure 5 B–C). Th ere is evidence that colour features including the relative extent of black reticulation and intensity of orange and pale yellow may be affected by temperature, with the black tending toward reduction at higher temperature ( Powell et al. 1973).

Specimens attributable to the floridana have barcodes unequivocally belonging to the aurea array of specimens ( Figure 6 C–D). Attempts to barcode the old type specimen of floridana failed. We maintain floridana as a synonym of aurea , consistent with the traditional treatment of other authors ( Heppner and Duckworth 1983; Heppner 1984, 2003; Covell 1984), but contrary to Becker (2009). Its status remains debatable, and it is possible for two species to have the same barcode. Barcode sharing is known to occur, albeit infrequently, among some close relatives in Lepidoptera ( Hebert et al. 2009) . The only evidence for considering floridana a separate species is the allegedly distinct forewing colour pattern with reduced spots ( Figure 6 ), which is restricted to southern Florida and seems constant in sympatry with A. aurea ( Becker 2009) , whereas A. aurea varies considerably in forewing pattern over its wide geographic range. However, some specimens are nearly intermediate in pattern ( Figure 6C ) and would be questionably attributed to either aurea or form floridana from wing pattern alone. Larvae of the floridana form feed on Simarouba glauca and so overlap in host plant with aurea . It was reported that their larvae are distinct ( Walsingham 1914: 329; Becker 2009), but this contention seems to be based on incorrectly interpreting a description of the floridana larva ( Dyar 1897) in which the two species or forms were not actually compared. Th e alleged difference in larvae remains unverified. Specimens seemingly of the form floridana examined by us were all collected early in April and May and it would be interesting to see if the form is seasonally related. Specimens of A. aurea were collected at various dates from May to August in the North American part of its range.

Although the type specimen of A. aurea , from Savannah, Georgia, appears to be lost, the description matches that of the ailanthus webworm moth and this is the oldest name applicable to North American populations of this Atteva . However, the original description is insuffi cient to determine the thickness of the forewing black lining and relative size of the orange and white spots, and there is no illustration of its type. Our attribution of that name is based on the original type locality which falls within the geographical range of the dry forest species and is far outside the range of the rain forest species. The neotype was selected based on availability of a full barcode without ambiguous bases in addition to matching the original description of the forewing pattern of A. aurea . While it would have been desirable to select a specimen from a locality “as nearly as practicable from the original type locality” ( ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.6), none from Georgia was available. Th e selected neotype is from northern Florida in a region with habitats similar to what occurs around Savannah, Georgia.

Neotype. Deiopeia aurea Fitch , female, here designated, deposited in CNC, labelled: “[female symbol]” [printed]; “ FLORIDA: Marion Co. | Ocala National Forest | Forest Road 88 | 3.9 Miles SE of SR 316 | Longleaf Pine Sandhills | 7 DEC 2004 MV /BL | TERHUNE S. DICKEL | Database # | CNCLEP | 00031092” [white, printed]; “ Barcodes of Life Project | Leg(s) removed | DNA extracted” [blue, printed]; “ NEOTYPE | Deiopeia | aurea Fitch, 1857 / by J.-F. Landry 2010” [orange, partly printed, partly handwritten]. The specimen is spread and missing the left fore- and mid-legs which were removed for DNA extraction, but otherwise is in good condition ( Figure 5A ). Barcode sequence under GenBank accession number HM 034047 .

Figures

Figure 4. A Holotype of A. edithella, specimen USNMENT00656111 (USNM) B Holotype of A. exquisita from Coahuila, Mexico, specimen USNMENT00656112 (USNM) C Holotype of A. ergatica, specimen CNCLEP00060676 (BMNH); due to markedly drooped wings, two half-photos were joined to show both sides D Holotype of A. microsticta, specimen USNMENT00656110 (USNM).

Figure 5. A Neotype of Deiopeia [= Atteva] aurea, specimen CNCLEP00031092 (CNC) B–C Barcoded specimens of A. aurea from Maryland collected 4 Aug and 31 Jul 2006 respectively (specimens CNCLEP00027030 and CNCLEP00026910, CNC) D Aberrant specimen of A. aurea from Maryland collected 4 Aug 2006 (specimen CNCLEP00027027, CNC)

Figure 6.A Holotype of Oeta [=Atteva] compta var.floridana, specimen USNMENT00656113 (USNM) C–D Barcoded specimens of A. aurea from Dade County, Florida with a wing pattern matching or approaching that of floridana (all in CNC) B 4 Avr 2007 (CNCLEP00031090) C 7 Avr 2007 (CN- CLEP00031091) D 8 May 1990 (CNCLEP00056231).