Paraseptis adnixa (Grote, 1880) Grote, 1880

Mustelin, Tomas & Crabo, Lars G., 2015, Revision of the genus Aseptis McDunnough (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Xylenini) with a description of two new genera, Paraseptis and Viridiseptis, ZooKeys 527, pp. 57-102 : 81-82

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Paraseptis adnixa (Grote, 1880) comb. n. Figs 53-56, 74, 90

Hadena adnixa Grote, 1880: 243.

Hadena pausis Smith, 1899: 262, syn. n.

Type material.

Hadena adnixa : holotype male [BMNH, photograph examined]. Type locality: Nevada. Hadena pausis : lectotype male designated by Todd (1982) [USNM, examined]. Type locality: Los Angeles County, California.

Diagnosis.

A medium-sized noctuid, wingspan 34.9 ± 1.3 mm (n=25; range 32-37.5 mm), that resembles strongly a narrow-winged Aseptis binotata in color and pattern. It is gray brown, has a full complement of dark lines and spots and a pale postreniform patch, and has a streaky hindwing with dark veins. The basal dash is thicker black than that of Aseptis binotata and extends fully to the antemedial line. Black wedges on the wing distal to the lower cell and in the fold are also more prominent in Paraseptis adnixa . In the Pacific Northwest, Paraseptis adnixa is typically patchy brown, often with a reddish tint, with a large pale ochre postreniform patch and contrasting black markings (Fig. 56). In most of California, it tends to be paler and less well marked with a speckled gray-brown or brown-gray forewing, less conspicuous postreniform patch and black marks, and slightly lighter hindwing. This form is even more similar to Aseptis binotata from the same region (Figs 53, 54). In the vicinity of Mono Lake in east-central California, Paraseptis adnixa is powdery pale gray with red-brown basal and postmedial areas, an off-white postreniform patch, and more dark streaks on the distal wing (Fig. 55).

Differences in genitalia between Paraseptis and Aseptis are described under the Paraseptis genus description. Paraseptis adnixa can usually be identified without dissection by the combination of notched hindwing, brown forewing with pale postreniform patch, and long basal dash.

The CO1 barcodes of Paraseptis based on 59 samples from British Columbia to southern California demonstrate six major haplotype clusters separated by at least 0.5% (Fig. 92). Of these, three clusters separated by at least 1.8% (PAD4, PAD5, PAD6) are from California west of the Sierra Nevada divide. The other two are more divergent: two from southwestern British Columbia (PAD1+PAD3) and a single Washington specimen, and the other from near Mono Lake, California (PAD2). The BC/WA cluster differs by at least 2.6% from the Mono cluster and 2.5% from the CA cluster, and the Mono and CA clusters differ by at least 2.8%. Interestingly, the three most divergent clusters (BC/WA, Mono, and CA) correlate with the geographic variation described above. Although the alignment of barcode haplotypes and phenotypes could suggest the presence of more than one species, no consistent male or female genitalia differences were found to suggest the presence of more than a single species, and all male genitalia match those of the lectotype of Hadena pausis at USNM (slide #54). We therefore conclude that Hadena pausis Smith is a junior subjective synonym of Hadena adnixa Grote.

Distribution and biology.

This species is widely distributed along the Pacific Coast from northern Mexico to southwestern British Columbia. It is found mostly west of the divides of the Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and British Columbia Coast Mountains but there are at least three colonies east of these mountains: Inyo and Mono County, California; Klamath and Lake counties, Oregon; and interior British Columbia near Lillooet. Paraseptis adnixa is common in the Pacific Northwest, where it can be found in a variety of forested habitats. In southern California, it occurs in coastal chaparral and in oak and brush land in the foothills and mountains. The flight period is April to June in California and mid-May to August in the Pacific Northwest. The larva feeds on Indian plum ( Oemleria cerasiformis ) in the Rosaceae ( Miller and Hammond 2000) and might be a specialist on it in parts of its range (including the Pacific Northwest). It has also been reported as feeding on Prunus ( Rosaceae ), which is the likely foodplant where the moth is found outside of the range of Oemleria , such as in interior British Columbia, south-central Oregon, and far-eastern California..

As described above, Paraseptis adnixa has three distinct populations based on superficial appearance and CO1 barcodes. Although there is little evidence to suggest more than a single species, we considered using subspecies to distinguish these forms. The Pacific Northwest populations are continuous to the border with California ( Crabo et al. 2012) suggesting that a cline to the California form may exist in northern California. Until this is refuted it is best to consider these forms the ends of a north-south cline. By contrast, the eastern California populations near the border with Nevada are probably isolated. If distinguishing them with a subspecies epithet is desired the type locality of Hadena adnixa Grote should be restricted since the stated type locality, Nevada, could refer to Nevada or an unspecified site in eastern California (Lafontaine JD pers. comm. 2015).