Cryptic species among bumblebee mimics: an unrecognized Hemaris hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in eastern North America
Author
Schmidt, B. Christian
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-03-20
4399
1
journal volume
30460
10.11646/zootaxa.4399.1.2
3bb8c8e6-3c22-406f-b3ac-7a2809a391ed
1175-5326
1206440
43FE3C2A-6413-4B9C-88B3-6F27F1B7035F
Hemaris aethra
(Strecker, 1875)
stat. rev.
Macroglossa aethra
Strecker, 1875: 107
, pl. XIII, fig. 2.
Type
locality:
Montréal
[
Québec
],
Canada
. [
FMNH
;
Fig. 11
]
COmPARISON Of SERIES Of SPECImENS fROm bOTH SPRINg ANd SUmmER bROOdS Of THE TWO EASTERN SPECIES STUdIEd HERE SHOW THAT THREE dIAgNOSTIC TRAITS Of THE AdUlT PHENOTYPE Of THE CRYPTIC SPECIES (
TAblE 2
) ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE HOlOTYPE
Of
H
.
aethra
(
FIg. 11
): OVERAll lARgER SIZE (WINgSPAN
48 mm
); STRAW-YEllOW dORSOlATERAl VESTITURE THAT EXTENdS INTO SEgmENT A4; ANd mORE EXTENSIVE REddISH-bROWN PATCH Of THE fOREWINg APEX. AlSO, THE TYPE lOCAlITY Of MONTRéAl, QUébEC IS IN THE CENTRAl PART Of THE SPECIES’ RANgE. THE HOlOTYPE EXAmINEd ClOSElY mATCHES THE IllUSTRATION IN STRECKER’S (1875) ORIgINAl dESCRIPTION (
FIg. 11
). BARNES & MCDUNNOUgH (1910) RECOgNIZEd
aethra
AS A SUbSPECIES dISTINCT fROm OTHER EASTERN NORTH AmERICAN
diffinis
(bASEd SOlElY ON AdUlT PHENOTYPE), ANd ARRANgEd
diffinis
INTO PARAPATRIC SUbSPECIES, WITH
aethra
fROm NORTHERN ONTARIO THROUgH QUébEC INTO MAINE, ANd
diffinis
TO THE SOUTH. BARNES & MCDUNNOUgH AlSO STATE THAT
aethra
IS lARgER WITH mORE YEllOW VESTITURE ANd mORE REddISH SCAlINg IN THE fOREWINg APEX. THE CHARACTERIZATION Of
Hemaris diffinis aethra
bY BARNES ANd MCDUNNOUgH IS THEREfORE AlSO fUllY CONSISTENT WITH THE CRYPTIC SPECIES IdENTIfIEd HERE.