A Revision of North American Lactura (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea, Lacturidae)

By

Matson, Tanner
Wagner, David L., 1956-
Miller, Scott E

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

846

Pages

75-116

Subjects

CO1 , DNA barcodes , gum bully , Sapotaceae , Sideroxylon , subspiracular gland , tropical burnet moths

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.846.31953

 

Abstract

The Lactura Walker, 1854 fauna north of Mexico is revised. Six species are documented, one new species Lacturanalli Matson & Wagner, sp. n. is described, and two new synonymies are proposed: Lacturapsammitis (Zeller, 1872), syn. n. and L.rhodocentra (Meyrick, 1913), syn. n. One new subspecies Lacturasubfervenssapeloensis Matson & Wagner, ssp. n. is also described. Adult and larval stages, male and female genitalia, are illustrated, a preliminary phylogeny is presented based on nuclear and mitochondrial data, distribution records provided for verified specimens, and the biology and life history for each species is briefly characterized. Phylogenetic analyses, larval phenotypes, and life history information reveal that much of the historic taxonomic confusion rampant across this group in North America traces to the phenotypic variation in just one species, L.subfervens (Walker, 1854).