Lasionycta benjamini Hill, 1927

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 : 47-48

Lasionycta benjamini Hill

Figs 43–46, 156, 157, 212, 213. Map 9

Lascionycta [sic] benjamini Hill, 1927: 6 .

Lasionycta benjamini ; McDunnough 1938: 71.

Type material. Lasionycta benjamini : holotype ♁ [ USNM, examined].Type locality: Mammoth , Inyo County, California. Poole (1989) states that there are four syntypes ; however, the original description states that the species is described from seven males, one of which is designated as the holotype with data and deposited in the collection of Wm. Barnes (now in USNM). Th e holotype is in good condition except for a broken left antenna .

Diagnosis. Lasionycta benjamini is distinguished from other species of Lasionycta by its streaky brown-gray forewing with dark chevron-shaped spots proximal to the jagged subterminal line. Th e hindwing is light brown gray with dark lines and spots. The male and female genitalia are typical for the L. leucocycla sub-group. Lasionycta benjamini is one of the larger species in the sub-group, intermediate between most species and L. sasquatch , the largest. Th e male antenna is strongly bipectinate, 2.75–3.35× the width of the shaft.

The CO1 sequences of L. benjamini form a distinct segregate, differing by over 1.5 % from other members of the sub-group ( Fig. 248 ).

Distribution and biology. Lasionycta benjamini occurs in the Sierra Nevada of California and in the mountains of Nevada and Colorado. It flies in montane conifer forest and is nocturnal. Specimens have been collected from late June to mid-August.

Geographical variation. Populations of L. benjamini are arranged in two subspecies.

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.