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
Author
Crabo, Lars
Washington State University, Bellingham, United States of America
Author
Lafontaine, Donald
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada
text
ZooKeys
2009
2009-12-18
30
30
1
156
journal article
10.3897/zookeys.30.308
ca35c50f-b0c5-4032-b06d-f71b00710c8d
1313–2970
576576
C26E1A82-0DD4-48EF-865C-9D8AA788B739
Lasionycta mutilata
(Smith)
Figs 12, 13, 143, 201. Map 4
Mamestra mutilata
Smith, 1898: 246
.
Lasionycta mutilata
;
McDunnough 1938: 71
.
Mamestra rainieri
Smith, 1900: 462
,
syn. n.
Mamestra rainierii
;
Dyar 1903: 156
, misspelling.
Lasionycta rainieri
;
McDunnough 1938: 71
.
Type
material.
Mamestra mutilata
:
holotype
♁ [
USNM
, examined]. Type locality:
British Columbia
.
Mamestra rainieri
:
holotype
♁ [
USNM
, examined]. Type locality: Mount Rainier,
Washington
.
Diagnosis
Lasionycta mutilata
is a distinctive species from northwestern North America. It has a mottled silver-gray forewing with black lines and spots and patches of yellow green in the fold and distal to the subterminal line. The orbicular, claviform, and reniform spots are large and filled with the ground color. Adults are most similar to non-melanic specimens of
L
.
haida
, but can be identified by its gray ventral thorax, dark gray brown in
L
.
haida
.
Lasionycta mutilata
is shinier and bluer than
L
.
haida
and its spots are larger. Th e male genitalia and antennae of the species are indistinguishable. Th e species are easily distinguished by locality since
L
.
haida
occurs on the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Th e CO1 sequences of
L
.
mutilata
and
L
.
haida
differ by 1.55 %.
Distribution
and biology.
Lasionycta mutilata
occurs from
Oregon
and Yellowstone National Park,
Montana
/
Wyoming
northward to the Alaskan Panhandle and the Rocky Mountains of
Alberta
. It is absent from the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Lasionycta mutilata
flies in high transition zone and subalpine conifer forest and is nocturnal. It has been collected from late June through August.
Geographical
variation.
Lasionycta mutilata
has a nearly uniform appearance throughout its range. Some specimens from Ketchikan,
Alaska
are darker than those from elsewhere, but none shows the brown color characteristic of
L
.
haida
.