An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada
Author
Pohl, Greg
Northern Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, Edmonton ,, Canada
Author
Anweiler, Gary
University of Alberta Strickland Entomology Museum ,, Canada
Author
Schmidt, Christian
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Canada
Author
Kondla, Norbert
Calgary ,, Canada
text
ZooKeys
2010
2010-03-05
38
38
1
549
journal article
10.3897/zookeys.38.383
aa97d560-1969-4b79-93bb-2614b7835c0e
1313–2970
576629
62.
Nolidae
The North American nolids are small (
15–25 mm
wingspan), mostly drab moths with variously shaped wings, although some topical groups are large and colorful, and very unlike temperate region species (see for example
Holloway 2003
). Th is group has been variously assigned to its own family or treated as a subfamily within the
Noctuidae
or the former
Arctiidae (Kitching and Rawlins 1999)
due to uncertain affinities of several unique structural traits. Recent molecular data shows that there is no support for including them within either the
Erebidae
or
Noctuidae
(Zahiri et al. in press), although a re-evaluation of morphological traits suggests they may be closer to the trifid
Noctuidae (
Fibiger et al. 2009
)
, a position not refuted by the molecular evidence. They are well-defined as a group by a number of unique structural traits, including a boatshaped, double walled cocoon with a vertical exit slit.
Approximately 1400 species of
Nolidae
are known worldwide. Th ey are most diverse in the Paleotropics. Th ere are currently 40 species in 10 genera in North America, excluding a number of undescribed species (BCS, unpubl. data); four species occur in AB. The genera
Nycteola
(
Fletcher 1959
;
Rindge 1961
) and
Baileya
(
Brou 2004
)
have been revised. A few species are pests of cotton and sorghum. Adults of the genus
Arcyophora
feed on the tears of livestock and have been implicated in the transmission of viruses and infections.
62.1
Nolinae
Most nolines are small moths (̴
20 mm
wingspan), often with patches of raised scales on the forewings, bearing superficial resemblance to some lichen moth (
Arctiinae: Lithosiini
) lineages. Larvae of some genera have the unusual behaviour of stacking cast head capsules on top of the current head capsule. Of the 20 species in North America, only one occurs in AB.
1721 R
Nola cilicoides
(Grote, 1873) L Jun
– L Aug – B g L:
Bowman (1951)
C: CNC, NFRC, OLDS, UASM
62.2
Chloephorinae
This subfamily includes a structurally and phylogenetically diverse number of nolid groups, loosely defined by the presence of tymbal (sound-producing) organs at the base of the abdomen. In North America the subfamily is however represented only by the tribe
Sarrothripini
, of which the genus
Nycteola
is typical. Recent molecular results show that the
Sarrothripini
likely did not derive from within the
Chloephorinae
(Za- hiri et al. in press), and the classification within the nolids will undoubtedly change. Only two
Nycteola
species occur in AB.