lepidopterans

New to science New Zealand moths link mythological deities to James Cameron’s films

In an unexpected discovery from New Zealand, two species of narrowly distributed moths were described as new species. Interestingly, both Arctesthes titanica and Arctesthes avatar were named after mythological deities and top-grossing blockbusters by famous filmmaker James Cameron: Titanic and Avatar, respectively.

The newly described moth species Arctesthes avatar in its natural habitat (South Island, New Zealand). Photo by Brian Patrick.

In an unexpected discovery from the South Island (New Zealand), two species of narrowly distributed macro-moths were described as new species. Interestingly, both Arctesthes titanica and Arctesthes avatar were named after mythological deities and top-grossing blockbusters by famous filmmaker James Cameron: Titanic and Avatar, respectively.

Each of the newly described species are believed to be restricted to only a couple of subalpine/alpine localities. Therefore, they are particularly vulnerable to extinction and need to be “considered of very high priority for conservation”, point out New Zealand scientists Brian Patrick (Wildland Consultants Ltd), Hamish Patrick (Lincoln University) and Dr Robert Hoare (Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research) in their paper in the open-access journal Alpine Entomology.

Male (left) and female (right) specimens of the newly described moth species *Arctesthes titanica*. Photo by Birgit Rhode.

Because of its relatively large size, one of the new discoveries: A. titanica, was named in reference to the Titans: the elderly gods in Greek mythology and the legendary, if ill-fated, record-breaking passenger ship ‘Titanic’, which became the subject of the famous 1997 American epic romance and disaster film of the same name. Unfortunately, the moth’s small wetland habitat is located in an area that is currently facing a range of damaging farming practices, such as over-sowing, grazing, stock trampling and vehicle damage.

On the other hand, A. avatar received its name after Forest & Bird, the New Zealand conservation organisation that was behind the 2012 BioBlitz at which the new species was collected, ran a public competition where “the avatar moth” turned up as the winning entry. The reference is to the indigenous people and fauna in Avatar. Just like them, the newly described moth is especially vulnerable to habitat change and destruction. In addition, the study’s authors note that the original avatars came from Hindu mythology, where they are the incarnations of deities, including Vishnu, for example, who would transform into Varaha the boar.

In conclusion, the scientists point out that future studies to monitor and further understand the fauna of New Zealand are of crucial importance for its preservation:

“Quantitative studies as well as work on life histories and ecology are particularly needed. Already one formerly common endemic geometrid species, Xanthorhoe bulbulata, has declined drastically and is feared possibly extinct: its life history and host-plant have never been discovered. Without further intensive study of the fauna of modified and threatened New Zealand environments, we will be unable to prevent other species slipping away.”

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Original source:

Patrick BH, Patrick HJH, Hoare RJB (2019) Review of the endemic New Zealand genus Arctesthes Meyrick (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae), with descriptions of two new range-restricted species. Alpine Entomology 3: 121-136. https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.3.33944

Newly discovered moth named Icarus sports a flame-shaped mark and prefers high elevations

The paper describing the new species is part of a special issue dedicated to macro moths of the New World published in the open-access journal ZooKeys

Newly-recognized species of owlet moth recently discovered to inhabit high-elevation mountains in western North America was named after the Greek mythological character Icarus. From now on, scientists will be referring to the new insect as Admetovis icarus.

In their paper, Dr Lars Crabo, Washington State University, USA, and Dr Christian Schmidt, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, explain that the combination of the distinct flame-shaped mark on the moth’s forewing and its high-elevation habitat were quick to remind them of Icarus, who is said to have died after flying so close to the sun that his wings made of wax and feathers caught fire.

The study is part of the seventh volume of the “Contributions to the systematics of New World macro-moths” series, where all previous volumes have also been published as special issues in ZooKeys.

Found in the town of Nederland, Colorado, the moth was collected at an elevation of 2,896 m above sea level. The species has also been recorded all the way from central Utah and central Colorado to the Selkirk Mountains of southeastern British Columbia, including a record from northeastern Oregon. It can be spotted between June and August at night.

In fact, it turns out that the moth has been collected during surveys in the past on multiple occasions, but has been misidentified with another closely related species: Admetovis oxymorus.

While the flame mark is a characteristic feature in all three species known in the genus (Admetovis), in the newly described species it is darker. When compared, the wings of the Icarus moth are also more mottled.

Despite the biology of the larvae being currently unknown, the scientists believe they are climbing cutworms and feed on woody shrubs, similarly to the species Admetovis oxymorus.

“Finding undiscovered moths is not that unusual, even though scientists have been naming insects since the eighteenth century,” says lead author Dr Lars Crabo.

“The Contributions series, edited by Don Lafontaine and Chris Schmidt, in which this discovery is published, really encourages professional and citizen scientists alike to go through the steps necessary to properly name the species that they have discovered. This series of seven volumes also includes a new check list for the United States and Canada, which has led to a re-kindling of interest in moths during the last decade.”

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Original source:

Crabo LG, Schmidt BC (2018) A revision of Admetovis Grote, with the description of a new species from western North America (Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Hadenini). In: Schmidt BC, Lafontaine JD (Eds) Contributions to the systematics of New World macro-moths VII. ZooKeys788: 167-181. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.788.26480

An overlooked and rare new gall-inducing micromoth from Brazil

A new species and genus (Cecidonius pampeanus) of primitive monotrysian micromoth from the Brazilian Pampa biome has been recently discovered to induce scarcely noticeable galls under the swollen stems of the Uruguayan pepper tree.

Gall-inducing moths lay their eggs in the tree bark, where the larvae form the characteristic roundish swellings as they grow larger. In their turn, these galls attract various parasitoids and inquiline wasps – wasps that have lost the ability to form galls for their own eggs – and so they take advantage of the galls of other species, while under development. The inquilines modify the galls into larger ones which subsequently last longer and attract even more attention. As a result, even though abundant as young, the new moth’s larvae rarely survive and their density in the field later in life is low.

While free-living gall moths are generally rare, the studied genus pupates on the ground, resulting in its being overlooked for over a century. Furthermore, the galls fall to the ground where the last instar larvae undergo a period of suspended development for months. They stay motionless within their gall until pupation and emerge as adults in the next growing season.

After all this time, this species has finally been recognised in the open access journal ZooKeys by an international research team, led by Dr. Gilson Moreira, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In their paper, the scientists describe the gall, immature stages and adults of the moth. They also provide information on its natural history in conjunction with one of the associated parasitoid and inquiline wasps.

“It took several years to obtain a small number of C. pampeanus pupae and adults to use for the description,” say the authors.

“The existence of these galls has been known for more than a century. However, biologists believed they are induced by the inquiline wasps,” they explain. “Consequently, it turned out that the wasps do not induce galls, but rather modify them early in development into large and colourful, visually appealing galls.”

The study also provides strong evidence that the species is under threat of extinction and the scientists suggest that protective measures need to be taken to conserve it.

In fact, they found strikingly low levels of gene flow amongst populations of C. pampeanus. In their paper, the team also emphasises that, in case of extinction of the primary gall inducer, a whole insect community associated with their galls will follow. This could happen even before science becomes familiar with all of these species.

Open savannahs of southern Brazil, where populations of the new moth’s host plant (the Uruguayan pepper tree) are found, have been suffering from anthropic impact for decades, mostly caused by agriculture and cattle ranching.

Curiously, the present study is the first in Brazil to suggest that a micromoth and its associated fauna should be subjected to conservation measures.

Extant populations of the new species are distant and isolated from each other, being restricted to a small geographic area in the northeast Southern Brazilian “Campos” (= Pampean savannah), a neglected biome from a nature preservation perspective. Most of the moths have retreated to higher elevations, such as hilltops and hill slopes interspersed with small bushes, where they get shelter from the anthropic influence.

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Original source:

Moreira GRP, Eltz RP, Pase RB, Silva GT, Bordignon SAL, Mey W, Gonçalves GL (2017) Cecidonius pampeanus, gen. et sp. n.: an overlooked and rare, new gall-inducing micromoth associated with Schinus in southern Brazil (Lepidoptera, Cecidosidae). ZooKeys 695: 37-74. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.695.13320

Portuguese moth’s mystery solved after 22 years

An unknown moth, collected from Portugal 22 years ago, has finally been named and placed in the tree of life thanks to the efforts of an international team of scientists. The moth was unambiguously placed in the family of geometer moths (Geometridae), commonly known as loopers or inchworms due to the characteristic looping gait of their larvae.

The new species description is published in the open access journal Nota Lepidopterologica, along with a taxonomic review of the genus Ekboarmia, thought to comprise four species in the western Mediterranean area.

The first specimen, a male, was found in 1995 in Lagoa de Santo André, south of Lisbon, near the Atlantic coast. Despite its unique appearance, the specialists did not find enough similarities with any other European species, making its classification impossible. When three females were finally found following an intensive search in 2009, the team of scientists hoped they would find enough evidence to solve the mystery.

“The discovered females had different wing patterns compared to the males, suggesting sexual dimorphism, adding another complexity in the identification. This new species could not have been classified on the basis of external characters alone,” explains Dieter Stüning from Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany.

In 2015, two specimens, a male and a female, have been DNA barcoded and recently became targets of detailed morphological examinations. DNA data played an essential role in demonstrating that the male and the female belong to the same species, whereas morphological structures finally provided unambiguous evidence to place the mystery moth in the geometrid genus Ekboarmia. The species name miniaria seemed appropriate to denote its small size. The tiny moth is the smallest in its genus whose other species are externally dissimilar.

Peder Skou from Denmark played a central role in the discovery of the species, tirelessly searching for more material to solve the questions. “Discovery of an undescribed and distinct macromoth from Europe is a rare occasion, because the continent’s fauna is probably the most exhaustively studied in the world,” explains Skou.

Pasi Sihvonen from the Finnish Museum of Natural History concludes: “Virtually nothing is known about the species. Altogether, only 11 specimens have been found between 1995 and 2011. Larvae of related species feed on juniper needles, which might also be the foodplant of the new species. We hope that the richly illustrated publication of the new moth will lead to new discoveries of this mysterious species. More data are needed, for instance, its conservation status cannot be evaluated due to insufficient life history and distribution data.”

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Original source:

Skou P, Stüning D, Sihvonen P (2017) Revision of the West-Mediterranean geometrid genus Ekboarmia, with description of a new species from Portugal (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae). Nota Lepidopterologica 40(1): 39-63. https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.40.10440

A colorful yet little known snout moth genus from China with 5 new species

A group of beautiful snout moths from China was revised by three scientists from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In their study, recently published in the open access journal Zookeys, entomologists Dr. Mingqiang Wang, Dr. Fuqiang Chen and Prof. Chunsheng Wu describe five new species and two newly recorded for the country.

Despite being morphologically interesting, the snout moth genus Lista remains little known. Usually, its members have bright-coloured wings, often pink, orange, or yellow, which makes them strikingly different from the rest in their subfamily (Epipaschiinae). In fact, it is because of the beautiful coloration that these moths are sometimes favourably compared to butterflies. However, these moths are indifferentiable from one another on the outside.

As a result of the present study, there are now ten species of Lista snout moths known from China, with their world fauna amounting to thirteen. Mostly distributed in the south the East-Asian country, the genus likely originates from there.

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Original source:

Wang M, Chen F, Wu C (2017) A review of Lista Walker, 1859 in China, with descriptions of five new species (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae, Epipaschiinae). ZooKeys 642: 97-113. 10.3897/zookeys.642.7157