Acontia areloides (Barnes & McDunnough)

Ferris, Clifford & Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, Review of the Acontia areli group with descriptions of three new species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Acontiinae), ZooKeys 9 (9), pp. 27-46 : 33-37

Acontia areloides (Barnes & McDunnough)

Figs. 1 , 5-7 , 18 , 24 , 29

Tarache areloides Barnes and McDunnough, 1912: 92 .

Type material. Syntypes 3 ♁, 5 ♀: Arizona, White Mts. [ USNM, Washington, DC] .

Other material examined and distribution ( Fig. 29 ). Ninety-five specimens were examined (7 dissections). Arizona: Apache and Coconino cos.; White Mts. New Mexico: Bernalillo, Catron, Grant, Lincoln, McKinley, Rio Arriba , Sandoval, and Socorro cos.; Magdalena, Pinos Altos, Sandia, and San Francisco Mts .

Diagnosis. Acontia areloides is separated from its congeners by its larger size, even vertical margin between the buff basal half of the forewing and the brown outer half, the latter obscuring the orbicular and reniform spots, and large white trapezoidal preapical costal spot, and the fuscous infusion on the hindwing.

Description. Adult male: Head – dark brown; antenna filiform; palpus porrect, slightly longer than eye width, white basally, outer half brown with vertical paler band in middle. Thorax – prothoracic collar and thorax creamy white with a few widely scattered brown scales. Foreleg: coxa white with a brown patch; femur and tibia outwardly brown, inwardly white, tan brush at tibial-tarsal joint; tarsi brown with white rings at joints. Middle leg: femur white, turning brown at femoral-tibial joint; tibia brown, white ringed at tibial-tarsal joint; tarsi brown with white rings at joints. Hindleg: femur, tibia white with brown “knee” at femoral-tibial joint and light brown shading at tibial-tarsal joint; first tarsal joint white shading to brown at second segment joint; remaining tarsi brown, white-ringed at joints. Wings: male (FWL 12-14 mm). DFW: ground color dark creamy-white over basal half with several irregular light brown vertical striations, then sharp nearly straight vertical transition to brown for remainder of wing, with some

scattered paler areas producing only a very slightly mottled aspect; prominent large white trapezoidal costal patch basad of apex; orbicular spot straddles pale-to-brown boundary, a brown ring with blue interior and brown pupil; reniform spot a circular dark ring with internal iridescent blue scales and black pupil; below orbicular spot a dark brown crescent and distally smeared patch with some bluish scales; terminal line a series of dark dashes; fringe brown interrupted by small white patch below apex and another at middle of outer margin of wing. DHW: luminous white, nearly hyaline, with pale brown marginal band; fringes white. Female (FWL 12-14 mm) – similar to male, but color generally darker, especially fringes, DHW light brown basally shading to brown on outer margin. Male genitalia (Fig. 18) – uncus: decurved, very long and narrow with slightly expanded rounded apex. Valves: asymmetrical; right valve narrower at base than apex with triangular process on dorsal margin beyond middle, apex rounded, with corona; clasper on lower margin of valve with triangular dorsal process near base, apex spine-like, curving around lower end of valve; sacculus broad with apex rounded, without saccular extension; left valve similar to right valve except sacculus smaller and clasper shorter with with less prominent dorsal bulge. Aedeagus: similar to that of A. areli , but more slender and spiculate band at apex ending well before base of vesica; everted vesica with trilobed subbasal diverticulum, a medial, rounded diverticulum with a heavily sclerotized, fin-like cornutus dorsally, and a distal lobe covered with rasp-like oval patch of small heavily chitinized projections. Female genitalia ( Fig. 24 ) – ostium bursae funnel-like; ductus bursae a long unsclerotized tube joining kidney-shaped corpus bursae at midpoint; corpus bursae mostly membrane, lightly sclerotized posteriorly.

Biology. Unknown. Adults in late July–September in forested mountain canyons from 5600-8300' (1710-2530 m).

Note. A single male specimen was examined from San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, south-central Mexico that is nearly identical to A. areloides , but differs in some aspects of the male genitalia. We do not feel it appropriate to describe a new species based upon a single specimen.

Figures

Figure 1. Diagnostic characters for separating the five Acontia areli group species found in the United States. The Mexican A. areletta is similar to A. areloides, but with an all white hindwing.

Figures 2-16. Acontia areli group adults. 2-4. A. areli, 2 ♁, Catron Co., NM; 3 ♁, Grant Co., NM; 4 ♀, Grant Co., NM; 5-7. A. areloides, 5 ♁, Grant Co., NM; 6 ♁, Catron Co., NM; 7 ♀, Catron Co., NM. 8-10. A. toddi, 8 ♁, holotype, Emery Co., UT, 9 ♁, Yavapai Co., AZ, 10 ♀, Emery Co., UT. 11-13. A. geminocula, 11 ♁, holotype, Yavapai Co., AZ; 12 ♁, Cochise Co., AZ; 13 ♀, Pima Co., AZ. 14-15. A. albifusa, 14 ♁, holotype, Pima Co., AZ, 15 ♀, Pima Co., AZ. 16. A. areletta ♁, San Jacinto, Mexico.

Figures 17-19. Acontia areli group male genitalia (left – ventral; right – lateral). 17 A. areli, 18 A. areloides, 19 A. toddi.

Figures 23-27. Acontia areli group female genitalia. 23 A. areli, 24 A. areloides, 25 A. toddi, 26 A. geminocula, (26a ventral; 26b lateral), 27 A. albifusa.

Figures 29-30. Acontia distribution maps. 29 A. areloides. 30 A. albifusa.