Protorthodes McDunnough, 1943

Lafontaine, J. Donald, Walsh, J. Bruce & Ferris, Clifford D., 2014, A revision of the genus Protorthodes McDunnough with descriptions of a new genus and four new species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Eriopygini), ZooKeys 421, pp. 139-179 : 140-141

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Protorthodes McDunnough, 1943

Type species.

Taeniocampa curtica Smith, 1890, by original designation.

Diagnosis.

Adults. Males and females of similar size (forewing length 11-17 mm). Vestiture of palpi, head, and thorax of long apically-forked or apically-serrated scales, sometimes with a slightly-raised central tuft near front of thorax. Head - Labial palpus porrect, apical segment about ½ as long as second segment. Frons rounded, covered with strap-like scales projecting over it from sides and top. Eye covered with surface hair. Male antenna biserrate (like toothed edge of a saw) to bipectinate (lateral processes mainly parallel sided like a feather) with lateral processes 0.5-4.0 × as long as central shaft. Female antenna filiform, setose ventrally. Thorax - Wings: Forewing ground color typically gray, brown, or orange; pattern variable, typically with reniform and orbicular spots with a pale or black outline, usually lower part or all of reniform spot filled with gray, which is darker than the ground color; postmedial line dentate or with inner element straight, outer element broken into series of dots on veins; subterminal line pale and sinuate in most species with dark wedges or shading along inner margin. Hindwing white to fuscous. Legs: Tibiae without spiniform setae. Tarsal segments 1-4 with three ventral rows of spiniform setae, and four ventral rows on tarsal segment 5. Abdomen - Base of abdomen without basal abdominal brushes. Eighth abdominal sternum of male with tuft of long setae on a short eversible coremata. Male genitalia - Uncus typically slender, slightly swollen mesially, tapered at apex to hook-like process. Valve broadest beyond middle, tapered to slight “neck” defining apical cucullus; sacculus more heavily sclerotized dorsally than ventrally with dorsal part crenulate and setose in some species; clasper a sclerotized plate in middle of valve distal to sacculus from which arises a long, heavily-sclerotized ampulla projecting posterodorsally, extending almost to, or beyond, dorsal margin of valve; ampulla centrally swollen in most species; digitus arising from large sclerotized plate in middle of valve, tapered posterolaterally into heavily-sclerotized pointed or blunt process projecting below ventral margin of valve at neck of cucullus; cucullus covered with long inward-projecting setae and with no defined apical corona. Vesica usually twisted or coiled above base with numerous pouches or diverticula basally and subbasally; a long, heavily-sclerotized basal or subbasal cornutus in most species; vesica 1-2 × as long as aedeagus. Female genitalia - Corpus bursae thin and membranous, rounded or oval, without obvious signa. Appendix bursae typically with one or two short coils. Ductus bursae variably sclerotized, usually about as long as corpus bursae. Abdominal segment eight about 2 × as long as wide; anterior apophyses 0.5-2.0 × as long as abdominal segment eight; posterior apophyses folding near middle, about 2.5 × as long as anterior apophyses. Ovipositor telescoping and projecting well beyond end of abdomen in most specimens. Anal papillae long and tapered, 0.5-1.0 × as long as abdominal segment eight; anal papillae lightly sclerotized, setae mainly confined to apical area.

Note.

Adults of Protorthodes are most likely to be confused with those of Homorthodes McDunnough and Nudorthodes (described below), but the male antennae in Protorthodes species are biserrate to bipectinate, whereas those of Homorthodes and Nudorthodes are filiform, without lateral processes.

Larva and habits.

Most species are associated with relatively xeric habitats, but not open deserts, preferring open, dry shrubby or forested areas, especially with pines or fir. The larvae hide in the leaf litter during the day and feed at night on a variety of herbs and low-growing shrubs. The species overwinter as partly grown larvae and emerge as adults between spring and autumn. Adults are nocturnal. The larva can be associated with the tribe Eriopygini by the lack of teeth on the ridges on the inner surface of the mandible, in combination with the hypopharynx lacking a transverse groove that divides the hypopharynx in related tribes into anterior and posterior lobes. Within the Eriopygini , Protorthodes is unique in having a pale transverse area on the posterior part of the prothoracic shield, and in having a pair of sclerotized plates between the bases of the abdominal prolegs; the genus also is characterized by the pavement-granulose integument, setae arising from pinacula, head mainly dark with pale patches forming a reticulate pattern, spinneret 2 × as long as the basal segment of the labial palpus, the apical seta of the labial palpus (Lp-2) is less than ½ as long as the basal segment of the palpus (Lp-1), and the spines on the hypopharynx are similar throughout, without the proximal-lateral row of short stout spines found in many other genera. A key to species based on larvae is in Crumb (1956) and Godfrey (1972).

Key to species of Protorthodes and Nudorthodes (Adults)