Lasionycta perplexella Crabo & Lafontaine, 2009

Crabo, Lars & Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, A Revision of Lasionycta Aurivillius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for North America and notes on Eurasian species, with descriptions of 17 new species, 6 new subspecies, a new genus, and two new species of Tricholita Grote, ZooKeys 30 (30), pp. 1-156 : 51-53

Lasionycta perplexella Crabo & Lafontaine , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D9079DC1-8D24-40EC-93DE-B0064DC28F89

Figs 110–112, 159, 215. Map 11

Type Material. Holotype ♁. Canada, British Columbia, Pavilion Mtn , 50°58' N 121° 41' W, 6860’, 30 July 2000, Troubridge & Hensel. CNC . Paratypes 99 ♁, 15 ♀. Canada. Alberta. Hailstone Butte, Route 532, 50.20° N 114.44° W, 6600–6800’, 18 July

2006, L. G. Crabo (8 ♁, 4 ♀). British Columbia. Same data as for holotype (58 ♁, 1 ♀) ; Gott Peak , 50.36° N 122.14° W, 7100’, 30 July 1994, L. Crabo and J. Troubridge (1 ♁), 6 Aug. 2005, L. G. Crabo (1 ♁, 1 ♀), 26 July 2006, L. G. Crabo (10 ♁, 1 ♀) ; Coast Range , Perkins Peak, 51.82-[51.8] 3° N 125.02-[125.0] 5° W, 6230–7400’, L. G. Crabo (1 ♁) ; Mission Ridge , 50.76-[50.7] 7° N 122.16-[122]. 20° W, 6000’, 15–16 July 1994, L. Crabo and J. Troubridge (6 ♁, 1 ♀) ; Watch Peak , 50.47-[50]. 48° N 116.29° W, 7900–9300’, 23 July 1994, L. Crabo and J. Troubridge (3 ♁, 1 ♀). Yukon. Montana Mtn, 60.07-[60.0] 8° N 134.68-[134]. 72° W, 1670–1860 m., 3 July 1989, L. G. Crabo and J. P. Pelham (1 ♁). USA. Washington. Chelan County, Junior Point Camp Ground, 47.99° N 120.39° W, 2010 m., 4 Aug. 1989, L. Crabo and C. Coughlin (7 ♁, 4 ♀) ; Okanogan County, Tiff any Meadows, 48.69° N 119.96° W, 6200’, 7 Aug. 1993, L. G. and A. G. Crabo (1 ♀) ; Whatcom County, Harts Pass , 48.73° N 120.66° W, 2000 m., 25 July 1987, L. G. Crabo (1 ♁), 8 Aug. 1987, L. G. Crabo (1 ♁, 1 ♀), 2 Aug. 1991 (1 ♁). AMNH, CNC, LGC, OSU, UASM, USNM, WSU .

Etymology. The name perplexella refers to the resemblance of this species to a small L. perplexa .

Diagnosis. Lasionycta perplexella closely resembles L. perplexa but the male antenna is biserrate rather than bipectinate as described under L. perplexa . Females of these species cannot be reliably differentiated without DNA sequencing and are best sorted by association with males. Subtle differences in their appearance are described under L. perplexa . Lasionycta perplexella is structurally indistinguishable from L. subalpina , including the antenna, but can be sorted by locality since L. perplexella occurs in the Pacific Northwest and L. subalpina is found in the central Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Th ey also have different ventral hindwings as described under L. subalpina .

The male genitalia of L. perplexella and L. subalpina are indistinguishable. The valves are shorter than those of L. perplexa and have a larger costal lobe that extends above the valve. Th e part of the vesica extending beyond the basal coil is shorter than in L. perplexa . Th e female genitalia are indistinguishable.

The CO1 sequences of L. perplexella differ by at least 1.95 % from those of L. perplexa . Two known CO1 haplotypes of L. perplexella differ by 0.5 % ( Fig. 248 ).

Description. Head – Antenna of male biserrate and fasciculate, individual segments triangular, 1.9–2.1× as wide as central shaft. Antenna of female filiform and ciliate. Dorsal segments charcoal gray proximally and white distally. Scape white, tuft of scales at dorsal antenna white-tipped gray. Eye normal sized. Palpus of brownish off-white, white, and charcoal scales. Frons with equal mixture of white and dark-gray hair-like scales. Top of head white-tipped dark-gray, dark-gray, and few white scales. Thorax – Vestiture a mixture of light- and medium-gray hair-like scales and whitetipped medium- and dark-gray scales, appearing pencil-lead gray. Prothoracic collar dark gray anteriorly and silver gray posteriorly. Patagium with ground color of thorax centrally and darker gray peripherally. Legs covered with slate gray and white scales. Tarsal segments slate gray with distal white rings. Wings – Forewing length: male 11– 14 mm (expanse 30–36 mm); females 13–15mm (expanse 33–36 mm). Ground color of forewing a mixture of medium- and dark-gray, white, and scattered luteous scales, appearing slightly mottled pencil-lead gray. Basal, antemedial, and postmedial lines double, dark gray with lighter gray filling, strongest at costa. Basal and antemedial line jagged, zigzagged. Medial line dark gray, complete. Postmedial line scalloped between veins, inner part clearly defined and outer part barely visible, broadly convex from costa to bottom of cell, and then nearly straight to posterior margin of wing. Subterminal line pale gray, irregular, preceded by a darker gray shade forming chevrons between veins. Spots dark gray. Orbicular spot round to oval, filled with light gray peripherally and a dark-gray ocellus centrally, lighter filling usually similar to filling of transverse lines, rarely lightest shading on forewing. Reniform spot kidney shaped, variable in size and conspicuousness, barely visible in a few specimens and complete and filled with pale gray peripherally and dark gray centrally in most specimens. Claviform spot filled with ground color, extending ¼ to ½ distance from antemedial line to postmedial line. Fringe dark gray, very weakly checkered with medium-gray between veins. Ventral forewing slightly brownish medium gray with scattered lighter scales along costa, distal to postmedial line, and at apex. Discal spot slightly darker gray. Postmedial line faint, most evident anterior to lower cell. Distal wing uniform dark gray. Dorsal hindwing light brownish gray with slightly darker gray discal spot, postmedial line, and indistinct marginal band. Hindwing fringe two-toned, dark gray proximally and light gray distally. Ventral hindwing a mixture of off-white and scattered gray scales, lighter gray than ventral forewing. Discal spot dark gray, relatively small, ovoid to weakly triangular. Postmedial line relatively faint, sinuous, most evident near costal margin. Marginal band of darker gray suffusion than remainder of wing. Fringe light gray. Abdomen – A mixture of light- and medium-gray scales. Dorsal tuft on first segment with white-tipped charcoal colored scales. Male genitalia – (Fig. 159). Genital capsule and aedeagus as in L. leucocycla species-group and L. perplexa sub-group descriptions. Valve approximately 6× as long as wide. Costal lobe of sacculus larger than that of L. perplexa , extending dorsal to valve margin. Vesica with 0–2 basal cornuti (N = 2), distal straight part slightly shorter than in L. perplexa . Female genitalia – (Fig. 215). Ovipositor lobe, segment VIII, and bursa copulatrix as in L. leucocycla species-group and L. perplexa sub-group descriptions. Corpus bursae approximately 1× as long as ductus bursae and 0.7× as wide as long.

Distribution and biology. Lasionycta perplexella occurs from southern Yukon to southern Alberta and southern Washington. It is found in subalpine spruce and fir forest, typically at higher elevation than L. perplexa . Adults are nocturnal and come to light. It has been collected from mid-July through August.

Figures

Figure 248. Neighbor-joining CO1 tree of the North American Lasionycta leucocycla species-group. Symbols and codes are the same as in Fig. 247. No data is available for Lasionycta carolynae, L. illima, L. leucocycla hampa, L. macleani, L. mono, or L. uniformis handfieldi. The illustrated specimens demonstrate the variation in appearance of the species-group and are scaled to the same size.