Ancylis uncella (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775), Denis and Schiffermuller, 1775

Gilligan, Todd, Huemer, Peter & Wiesmair, Benjamin, 2016, Different continents, same species? Resolving the taxonomy of some Holarctic Ancylis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Zootaxa 4178 (3), pp. 347-370 : 356-361

Ancylis uncella (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775)

Figs. 11–16, 63–64, 77–78

Tinea uncella Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 , Syst. Verz. Schmett. Wienergegend: 136. Tortrix uncana Hübner, 1796 –1799, Samml. Eur. Schmett. 7: pl. 13, fig. 76. [unjustified emendation] Ancylis uncana var. subuncana Krulikowsky, 1907 , Rev. Russe Ent. 7: 33.

Ancylis carbonana Heinrich, 1923 , Bull. U. S. natn. Mus. 123: 248. syn.n.

Diagnosis. Most individuals of A. uncella can be diagnosed by forewing pattern: the median fascia is brown to reddish brown, complete from costa to dorsum, and flanked on the dorsum and tornus by gray patches. Some A. goodelliana can appear similar (Fig. 18), but the median fascia is not expressed on the costa in that species.

Redescription. Forewing. FWL Ƌ 5–9 mm (n=30), ♀ 6–8 mm (n=14). Forewings are brown to reddish brown and gray with white to gray costal strigulae. The brown to reddish-brown median fascia is complete from costa to dorsum in most individuals; occasionally the dorsal portion is broken before reaching the dorsum (Fig. 13), but in all cases the median fascia is expressed on the costa. Gray to light gray patches are present proximal to the median fascia on the dorsum and distal to the median fascia on the tornus; often median fascia extends into the distal gray patch (Fig. 12–13, 16). In some individuals the brown and gray areas of the wing are sharply contrasting (Fig. 11), while in others the gray is darker and subdued (Fig. 14). Black streaks are sometimes weakly expressed along the radius and cubitus (Figs. 12–14). Male genitalia. The male genitalia are identical to those of A. pacificana with the exception of the phallus, which is 0.7 as long as the valva, and the tooth on the phallus, which is at the apex (and difficult to see in some preparations). As with A. pacificana , the length of the cucullus, the width of the valval neck, and the saccular terminal projections all vary between individuals; we have attempted to illustrate the range of variation in Figs. 63–64 . Female genitalia. Antrum sclerotized to 0.6 length of ductus bursae, widened at ostium to 0.5 distance between apophyses anteriores. Corpus bursae large, oval, expanding abruptly from ductus bursae; signa large, blade- or horn-shaped, unequal in size.

Molecular data. BIN URI: BOLD:AAA7191, BIN-sharing with A. goodelliana , with a minimum distance of 1.13%.

Distribution. With the synonymy of A. carbonana , A. uncella has a Holarctic distribution. In the Palearctic, it is found from the United Kingdom and France south to Romania and east to Siberia, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan ( Razowski 2003). In the Nearctic, it is present across Canada from Ontario to Manitoba and Alberta, and in the U.S. from Maine south to Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Biology. Adults are present from late April to June, sometimes also in a small second generation in July and August ( Razowski 2003). Larvae feed in July and August on Betula and Erica and pupate after hibernation in a cocoon spun in a dead leaf ( Bradley et al. 1979).

Remarks. Heinrich (1923) described A. carbonana as different from A. uncana (= A. uncella ) based on darker hindwings, a fainter mid-dorsal pale patch (on the forewing), a shorter phallus, and a narrower valva. We compared the holotype and several paratypes of A. carbonana with A. uncella from Europe and found that these characters vary to the extent that they will not reliably separate individuals from Europe and North America. Further, individuals of A. uncella from Europe and A. carbonana from Canada (identified as A. carbonana , A. goodelliana , or A. uncella ) clustered together in the DNA barcode analysis ( Fig. 1 ). Based on this evidence we synonymize A. carbonana with A. uncella .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Neighbor-joining tree of COI DNA barcode data obtained from BOLD (K 2 P model). Clusters representing morphologically distinct species are color-coded with the corresponding species name.

FIGURES 59 – 66. Male genitalia. 59 – 60, A. unguicella (59, Colorado, TMG 685; 60, Austria, TMG 681). 61 – 62, A. pacificana (61, California, TMG 678; 62, California, TMG 686). 63 – 64, A. uncella (63, Russia, TMG 679; 64, Maine, TMG 698). 65, A. goodelliana (Connecticut, TMG 705). 66, A. oregonensis (Oregon, TMG 633).