Lasionycta sasquatch 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 : 45-47

Lasionycta sasquatch Crabo & Lafontaine , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6F027F65-8A24-4336-9FCB-7DB65799EC68

Figs 40–42, 155, 211. Map 8

Type Material. Holotype ♁. USA, Washington, Kittitas Co, Quartz Mtn , 47.074° N 121.061° W, 1900 m., 16 July 2007, Lars G. Crabo. CNC . Paratypes 10 ♁, 9 ♀.

USA. Washington. Same data as holotype (2 ♁) ; Kittitas County, Quartz Mtn, 6400’, 15 July 1996, J. Troubridge, Genitalia slide 95852, Databased for CNC, Noctuoidea # 6593, Barcode of Life Project, University of Guelph , DNA # Noctuoidea 6593 (1 ♁) ;

same locality, date, and collector as last specimen, Databased for CNC, Noctuoidea # 6592, Barcodes of Life Project, University of Guelph , DNA # Noctuoidea 6593 (1 ♁) ; Kittitas Co, Quartz Mtn, Alpine Ridge Meadow , Light trap, T18N R14E S3, 6,232’, 20 July 1998, K. Romain (1 ♁) ; Kittitas County, Lake Kachess, NF-4828, 47° 19.219 ’N 121° 15.46’ W, 760 m., T. Mustelin, Blacklight trap, 4 July 2009 (1 ♁, 2 ♀), 11 July 2009 (1 ♀), 16 July 2009 (2 ♀), 17–18 July 2009 (1 ♁, 2 ♀), 19–23 July , 2009 (1 ♁, 1 ♀). Oregon. Clatsop County , Saddle Mt. , 8 July 1961, Kenneth Goeden (1 ♁). Josephine County , vic. Bolan Mt. , 15 mi. SE, Cave Junction , c[irca] 5800', 19 July 1997 [no collector] (1 M, 1 F). CNC, LGC, OSU, TMC .

Etymology. This species is named for Sasquatch, the mythical ape-man of the Pacific Northwest. It is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. Lasionycta sasquatch resembles a large dark L. poca and replaces it in Oregon and most of western Washington. It is one of the largest species in the subgroup (expanse 30–36 mm compared to 25–31mm for L. poca ). Th e forewing is charcoal gray to dark brown. Th e hindwing is dusky brown with a suffusion of dark scales, greatest basally, which tends to obscure the lines in some specimens. Structurally, L. sasquatch is similar to L. poca and is indistinguishable in male genitalia, but L. sasquatch has a slightly larger eye and its antennal segments are narrower (2.10–2.25× central shaft width in L. sasquatch ; 2.5–3.0× shaft in L. poca ). Th e female bursa is large for the sub-group, reflecting the large size of the moth. Lasionycta sasquatch is unlikely to be confused with other Lasionycta in its range.

Lasionycta sasquatch and L. poca have identical CO1 sequences.

Description. Head – Male antenna bipectinate and fasciculate, 2.10–2.25× as wide as central shaft. Female antenna filiform and ciliate. Dorsal segments gray. Scape white. Eye normal size. Labial palpus covered with pale brownish-gray, white and black scales. Frons white. Top of head cream, white, and black-tipped brownish-gray scales. Thorax – Vestiture a mixture of black, white, and white-tipped black hair-like and weakly spatulate scales, appearing uniform dark brownish gray. Legs covered by medium-gray and hair-like white and black-tipped light-brown scales. Tarsal segments slate gray ringed distally with white. Wings – Forewing length: male 14–16 mm (expanse 30–36 mm); female 15–16 mm (expanse 30–33 mm). Forewing ground color a mixture of dark-gray, white, and luteous scales, appearing dark brownish gray with scattered patches of yellow scales. Lines black, double, filled with lighter gray. Basal and antemedial lines irregular. Medial line weak, darkest near costa and in cell. Postmedial line moderately scalloped, inner component dark and outer component faint, oblique from costa to inner margin and mildly excurved at lower end of cell. Subterminal line irregular, pale, preceded by an irregular dark-gray shade with weak chevrons between veins. Spots black. Orbicular spot ovoid, nearly round, filled with light-gray scales peripherally and a dark-gray ocellus centrally. Reniform spot faint, kidney shaped, filled with ground color medially, light gray laterally, and dark gray centrally. Claviform spot small, extending ⅓ distance between antemedial and postmedial lines, filled with ground color. Fringe checkered light gray and black. Ventral forewing light brownish gray, dark gray on costa and in subterminal area, with darker gray markings. Discal spot rectangular or weakly chev- ron shaped. Postmedial line indistinct, weakly scalloped, touching lower reniform spot. Fringe scalloped light brown and dark gray. Dorsal hindwing brownish off-white with dusting of dark-gray scales and dark-gray markings. Discal spot moderately large, laterally convex. Postmedial line less distinct than in L. poca , faint near anterior margin and increasing to intensity of marginal band below cell, slightly scalloped and angled apex lateral at lower end of cell. Marginal band wide with sharply demarcated medial margin. Hindwing fringe gray basally and pure white distally. Ventral hindwing brownish off-white with scattered dark-gray scales and dark-gray markings. Basal dash present in some specimens. Discal spot nearly black, darker than postmedial line and marginal band, ovoid. Postmedial line similar in darkness to marginal band, nearly as wide as discal spot and located closer to marginal band than to discal spot, gently undulating. Marginal band interrupted by lighter scales, lighter colored and less sharply demarcated than in L. poca . Fringe weakly scalloped pale luteous and light gray proximally, uniform whitish gray distally. Abdomen – Uniform light gray with black dorsal tufts on first two segments. Male genitalia – (Fig. 155). Genital capsule and aedeagus as in L. leucocycla species-group and L. leucocycla sub-group descriptions. Valve approximately 5.0–6.8× as long as wide, with mildly constricted neck. Cucullus normal for species-group, single with slightly irregular double corona at apex. Vesica with 0–1 subbasal cornuti (N = 2). Female genitalia – (Fig. 211). As in L. leucocycla species-group description. Corpus bursae relatively large, approximately 1.45× ductus bursae length and 0.6× as wide as long.

Distribution and biology. Lasionycta sasquatch is known from the Washington Cascades south of Snoqualmie Pass, Saddle Mountain in the Oregon Coast Range, and the Siskiyou Mountains in southwestern Oregon. It is nocturnal. Th e habitat is subalpine parkland at two locations in the Washington Cascades. Th e largest series examined was collected in old growth mid-elevation forest with western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. ), Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco ), and fir ( Abies sp.) ( Pinaceae ), and western red cedar ( Thuja plicata Donn ex. D. Don) ( Cupressaceae ) (T. Mustelin pers. comm.). Adults have been collected in early and mid-July.