Corresponding author: J. Donald Lafontaine (
Academic editor: C. Schmidt
The genus
Lafontaine JD, Sullivan JB (2015) A revision of the genus
The genus
Most species are very difficult to identify from external appearance, however, the vesica in males, the genitalia in females, and the barcodes, are diagnostic. All except one of the ten species in the genus are associated with coastal salt marshes.
Specimens were examined from the following collections:
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
The Natural History Museum (statutorily, British Museum (Natural History), London, UK
Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Eric H. Metzler Collection, Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA
Florida State Collection of Arthropods, McGuire Center for
J. Bolling Sullivan Collection, Beaufort, North Carolina, USA
Mississippi Entomological Museum, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA
National Museum of Natural History (formerly, United States National Museum), Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Vernon Antoine Brou Jr. Collection, Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA
The genus
Species of
Adults bear little superficial resemblance to other genera of the
1 | Forewing brownish gray to whitish gray above and below the dark longitudinal medial stripe; Atlantic Canada and eastern United States |
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– | Forewing with orange stripe above and below dark longitudinal medial stripe; Bahamas |
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2 | Males |
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– | Females (females of two species from the Gulf Coast of Florida, |
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3 | Costal process of valve tapered to a point at or beyond central membranous part of valve |
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– | Costal processes of valve blunt and rounded apically and ending well before apical part of valve (Fig. |
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4 | Vesica with diverticulum 1 with deeply-serrated rooster-comb-like sclerotized cornutus (Figs |
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– | Vesica with diverticulum 1 with triangular shark-fin-like sclerotized cornutus, which may have minute serrations on one side (Figs |
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5 | Vesica with diverticulum 1 elongated, 2–5 × as long as mesial width (Figs |
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– | Vesica with diverticulum 1 about as long as mesial width (Figs |
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6 | Diverticulum 1 usually 2–3 × as long as mesial width; diverticulum 2 on posterior surface; apex of vesica symmetrical with broad triangular cornutus on each side projecting laterally (Fig. |
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– | Diverticulum 1 4–5 × as long as mesial width; diverticulum 2 lateral on left; apex of vesica asymmetrical with single triangular cornutus on diverticulum 5 (Fig. |
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7 | Aedeagus short, about 5 × as long as wide (Fig. |
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– | Aedeagus 7–10 × as long as wide (Figs |
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8 | Diverticulum 2 of vesica larger than diverticulum 1 (Fig. |
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– | Diverticulum 2 of vesica a slight hump (Fig. |
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9 | Vesica T- or Y-shaped at apex with diverticula 4 and 5 projecting to each side, each with a triangular cornutus at apex (Figs |
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– | Vesica with rounded, bulging apex with preapical cornuti on left side (Figs |
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10 | Longitudinal forewing stripe broad, sharply defined or diffuse; vesica with position of diverticulum 1 barely raised from curve in vesica; apex of vesica an elongated lobe (Fig. |
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– | Longitudinal forewing stripe narrow; diverticulum 1 of vesica a prominent posterior lobe from curve of vesica; apex of vesica bluntly rounded (Fig. |
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11 | Sclerotized plate in ductus bursae about as long as posterior width of plate; left posterior side of corpus bursae with protruding sclerotized lobe opposite appendix bursae; ductus bursae and corpus bursae very short (Fig. |
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– | Sclerotized plate in ductus bursae about 2–4 × as long as posterior width (Figs |
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12 | Forewing mainly white; longitudinal dark stripe absent or barely discernable; sclerotized plate in ductus bursae broad posteriorly, tapered anteriorly, 0.55–0.65 × length of ductus bursae (Fig. |
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– | Forewing pale buffy brown with dark longitudinal stripe sharply defined; sclerotized plate in ductus bursae broader anteriorly and posteriorly, narrower in middle, 0.75–0.85 × length of ductus bursae (Figs |
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13 | Corpus bursae slightly constricted mesially; appendix bursae elongated; sclerotized plate in ductus bursae not abruptly widened at anterior end (Figs |
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– | Corpus bursae constricted post-mesially at base of rounded, wrinkled appendix bursae; sclerotized plate in ductus bursae widened at anterior end (Figs |
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14 | Ductus bursae tapered from posterior end to anterior end; appendix bursae rounded posteriorly (Fig. |
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– | Ductus bursae almost even in width throughout; appendix bursae truncated posteriorly (Fig. |
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15 | Longitudinal forewing stripe broad, sharply defined or diffuse (Figs |
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– | Longitudinal forewing stripe narrow, sharply defined (Figs |
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16 | Sclerotized plate over ostium bursae deeply concave on posterior margin; appendix bursae bilobed posteriorly (Fig. |
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– | Posterior margin of ostium bursae essentially straight (Fig. |
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We have examined material from North Carolina east of the Piedmont, from most of Florida except for the Keys and Panhandle and a single male from a power cut near Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson County, Mississippi. Specimens from Florida, Mississippi and North Carolina are closely similar in appearance, genitalia and barcodes.
Superficially, adults usually can be identified by the narrower dark stripe on the forewing and their relatively small size (forewing length: ♂ 13.0–15.5 mm, ♀ 14.5–16.0 mm). Compared to
This species is named after Ft. De Soto Park, Florida.
This species is superficially indistinguishable from
External structural characters as described for genus. Forewing length 16 mm; forewing whitish buff with slightly darker-buff and pale-gray streaks; a prominent blackish-brown stripe along the middle of wing, curving upward and tapered at about ¾ from base; stripe narrower than for
This species is known only from three male specimens, all from the Gulf Coast of Florida between Sarasota County and Gulf County. Collecting dates are in January, February, and July. Nothing is known of its biology except it is associated with coastal salt marshes.
The species name is in honor of the Okaloosa, a tribe of the Creek Nation and longtime inhabitants of the area.
This species probably occurs with
Forewing length 16.5 mm; forewing stripe dark brown, narrower than for
At present this species is known from the holotype collected in Okaloosa County, Florida. It likely ranges south in the coastal brackish marshes toward the St. Petersburg/Tampa area and to the west along the Florida coast but little collecting has been done in salt marshes of the Florida Panhandle.
Canada: Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island. USA: Maine, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.
External structural characters as described for genus.
The species name is in honor of John Fussell from Morehead City, North Carolina, who has worked tirelessly for decades to describe and protect the unique flora and fauna of the North Carolina coastal plain, particularly the Croatan National Forest. All of our lives are richer for his efforts.
This species occurs with
Smaller than
At present this species is known only from North Carolina, occurring from Dare County in the north to Brunswick and New Hanover counties in the south. It is likely that it occurs farther south but may have been overlooked as
The name of this species refers to the width of the longitudinal dark stripe on the forewing in both sexes.
We have examined material from southern Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Specimens in Bold database exhibit considerable heterogeneity but all sequences are within 0.8% of each other.
This species occurs with
Forewing ground color in spring and summer specimens yellowish white to buff with gray streaking, hindwing white to whitish buff; forewing in fall and winter specimens darker with more brown shading, hindwing variably suffused with brown, especially along wing margin. Forewing length 14.5–18.0 mm (males), 17.5–20.0 mm (females), similar in length to those of
The adults are found in tidal creeks and salt marshes from Alabama to Louisiana. The biology is unknown, but presumed to be similar to other species of
We name this species after Vernon A. Brou, Jr. in recognition of his impressive and tireless efforts in collecting and researching the Lepidoptera of Louisiana.
This species occurs with
Forewing length: 13.0–15.5 mm (males), 13.5–17.0 mm (females), Forewing buffy brown to whitish gray with faint buffy streaks, darker forms in colder months; longitudinal stripe dark brown, similar in width to that of
The species is named for John P. Reinecke, a retired
This species occurs with
Forewing length 15.0–17.0 mm (males), 17.0–20.0 mm (females). Male noticeably broader winged than other species of
The species has been collected from the western panhandle of Florida along the Gulf Coast to eastern Texas. Dates are from April to August but it is likely on the wing throughout the year. Nothing is known of its biology other than its association with
Bahamas. Nothing is known of the biology of
We thank the following individuals for assistance with this revision. Martin Honey (Natural History Museum, London, UK), Michael Pogue (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC), Vernon Brou (Abita Springs, Louisiana), James Hayden (Florida State Collection of Arthropods, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity, Gainesville, Florida), Eric Metzler (Alamogordo, New Mexico), and Richard Brown (Mississippi Entomological Museum) for loans of specimens. The staff at Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi gave permission for collections to be made there. Jim Troubridge and Vernon Brou contributed material for the project. Vernon Brou also contributed seasonal data for Louisiana. Jocelyn Gill ( Barcode of Life Data