Corresponding author: Eric L. Quinter (
Academic editor: C. Schmidt
Quinter EL, Sullivan JB (2014) A new apameine genus and species from the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae). In: Schmidt BC, Lafontaine JD (Eds) Contributions to the systematics of New World macro-moths V. ZooKeys 421: 181–191. doi:
Most of the species formerly placed in the “
This paper describes the second of a number of new genera of apameine moths that are highly restricted to the limited occurrences of their known or presumed host plants,
Photographic methods used herein are described in
The Natural History Museum, London, UK
Eric L. Quinter, Willimantic, Connecticut, USA
Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Ottawa, Canada
J. Bolling Sullivan, Beaufort, North Carolina, USA
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Masculine.
This genus exhibits most but not all of the primary characteristics of the tribe
Fontana View Estates on Lake Fontana, Swain County, North Carolina.
The name Attakullakulla, herein treated as a noun in apposition, refers to the Supreme Cherokee Leader (from 1761–1775) who represented his people in London in 1730 and at home in the Carolinas while negotiating various peace treaties.
The very limited distribution of this species to moderate altitudes in the southern Appalachian Mountains and foothills is unlikely to coincide with any species of
Genitalia structure of
Barcodes were obtained for seven specimens from both Swain and Rutherford Counties. There were five haplotypes which differed by as much as 0.6%. The most common haplotype was:
Barcode sequences for
Two patterns of maculation are seen (
We have not yet had the opportunity to investigate the bionomics of this species fully, so the early stages remain unknown. Based upon habitat association, unequivocal placement within the
In North Carolina the species is known from Swain and Macon Counties in the mountains and from Rutherford County in the foothills. The only record for Georgia is Rabun Co., slopes of Rabun Bald, 0.7 road mi. past Kelsey Mtn. Road parking lot, 4000’, June 21, 2001, James Adams (Adams, personal communication). The species is univoltine and flies from the 8th through the 24th of June. It is always found in association with hill cane (
Despite well-developed flight musculature, most adult apameine moths are highly sedentary and non-vagile. As a result, many of the species occur only in small, extremely localized populations and thus are infrequently collected, creating a false impression of rarity, when in fact they can be extremely abundant within their respective niches. Hence the availability of suitably fresh study material for molecular analysis represents a major challenge. Some of the earlier molecular analyses were based on a very limited subset of the species occurring in a region, and of relatively little value as a consequence. More recent work in North America and Europe has a high degree of species-level coverage in the 94% range (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. com.). Issues of generic non-monophyly are thus revealed. Phylogenetic studies based on morphology have one advantage in that comprehensive representation is more readily achievable.
Morphological studies of
Even with regard solely to morphology, global treatments have thus far been quite uneven. The apameine fauna of the western Palearctic recently have been comprehensively studied and documented (
We thank the staff of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cherokee Nation, and Tim Sweeney, Chris Wilson and Kevin Caldwell with Box Creek Preserve in Rutherford County for collecting permits and access to habitats as well as financial support. James Adams provided additional collecting records for Georgia. Jocelyn Gill assisted with the preparation of the figures and Paul Hebert and Barcode of Life Data systems technicians obtained barcode sequences. Don Lafontaine and Jane O’Donnell provided helpful reviews of the manuscript.