Revision of the New World Panthea Hübner ( Lepidoptera , Noctuidae ) with descriptions of 5 new species and 2 new subspecies

Th e New World species of Panthea Hübner are revised. Five species and two subspecies are described as new: Panthea apanthea sp. n., Panthea reducta sp. n., Panthea greyi sp. n., Panthea judyae sp. n., Panthea guatemala sp. n., Panthea furcilla australis ssp. n., and Panthea acronyctoides nigra ssp. n. Lectotypes are designated for Panthea leucomelana Morrison and Panthea furcilla (Packard), and a neotype is designated for Platycerura gigantea French. Panthea pallescens McDunnough, syn. n. is synonymized with P. furcilla (Packard), P. acronyctoides albosuff usa McDunnough, syn. n. is synonymized with P. acronyctoides acronyctoides Walker, P. portlandia Grote, syn. n., P. portlandia suff usa McDunnough, syn. n., and P. angelica (Dyar), syn. n. are all synonymized with P. virginarius (Grote). Adults of all New World Panthea are illustrated in color, and black and white illustrations of the genitalia of both sexes are provided where known. A key to adults of both sexes and dot maps showing distribution for all species are provided.


Introduction
Panthea Hübner, 1820 (Noctuidae, Pantheinae) is Holarctic, with six Old World and nine New World species (Poole 1989;Hodges et al. 1983;Th ony 1996).In the eastern hemisphere Panthea occur south to Southeast Asia, in the western hemisphere south to Central America and the Caribbean.Panthea is most diverse in the American Southwest, and all species for which there are habitat data are denizens of coniferous woodlands.
Panthea are placed in the Pantheinae, traditionally treated as a subfamily of the Noctuidae (Poole 1989;Franclemont and Todd 1983).Kitching and Rawlins (1999) elevated Pantheinae to family status, but Lafontaine and Fibiger (2006) revised them back to subfamily status in their expanded concept of Noctuidae, which is followed here.
Panthea are robust, medium-sized (approximately 3-6 cm wingspan) noctuid moths with a forewing pattern of fi ve black lines crossing a white or gray ground.Th e extent of sexual dimorphism varies in expression among species, and where it occurs it is expressed as females being larger and darker than males.Male antennae are bipectinate, female antennae simple.Th e eyes are hairy, and the mouthparts of both sexes are greatly reduced and apparently non-functional.Th e male uncus and female sterigma are greatly modifi ed and provide excellent characters for identifi cation at the species-group and species levels.Several taxa have a variety of forms, with some populations of one species occurring in a form that resembles a form of another species more than other populations of the same species.As a result a number of taxa have been overlooked, others have been described more than once, and misidentifi cations are frequent in museum collections and in the literature (McDunnough 1942;Bowman 1951;Crumb 1956;Prentice 1962).Melanism is frequent in some eastern populations of nominate P. furcilla (Packard), and has also been reported for P. furcilla australis and some eastern populations of nominate P. acronyctoides (Walker) (Klots 1964;Klots 1966;Klots 1968;Brou pers. comm. 2008;Anweiler, unpublished data).Th is phenomenon appears to be more or less restricted to the eastern United States and is extremely rare or non-existent in other Panthea populations.Th e hairy larvae of all species, so far as is known, feed only on needles of conifers (Pinaceae) and in particular pines (Smith and Dyar 1898;Crumb 1956;Prentice 1962;Duncan 2006;Anweiler unpublished data).
Th e purpose of this paper is to revise the New World Panthea, describe new taxa, and provide illustrations, keys and distribution maps that will assist in identifying these interesting moths.Life history and habitat information is briefl y summarized when available.

Materials and methods
Procedures for dissecting and preparing genitalia and terminology for wing markings follows that of Lafontaine (1987).Terminology for genitalic structures follows Lafontaine (2004).
Specimens or photographs of specimens were obtained from the following institutional collections and individuals; abbreviations used are as follows: BMNH Th e Natural History Museum (formerly British Museum [Natural History]), London, United Kingdom.
Diagnosis.Th e genus Panthea is characterized by a combination of characters including a dorsal forewing with a white or gray ground and a complete pattern of fi ve black cross lines with the normal spots (reniform, orbicular and claviform) obsolete or nearly so.Male antennae are bipectinate and both sexes have greatly reduced apparently non-functional mouthparts.Male genitalia have simple heavily sclerotized valves with a well-developed clasper, a laterally compressed uncus with a high crown, triangular in cross-section and in lateral profi le resembling a bird's head with beak, and a simple vesica armed with 1-3 large sclerotized cornuti.Females have a well-developed or massive sclerotized sterigma and a simple oval or oblong bursa copulatrix, lacking both appendices and signa.Description.Th e genus Panthea is described and illustrated in detail in Smith and Dyar (1898).Head -broad, retracted; frons fl at; eyes widely separated; ocelli small, concealed; proboscis greatly reduced, short, weak, apparently non-functional; palps small, slender, hardly extending to front; antenna bipectinate in male, simple in female; eyes hairy, without lashes.Th orax -quadrate, wider than long, with smooth hairy somewhat loose vesiture; legs short, stout, all similar in size, clothed with long loose hair; unarmed except for short, weak spurs; tarsal claws weak.Dorsal fore wing -broadly triangular, outer margin oblique, with apex produced so costa is about 2 × length of inner margin, clothed with a mixture of dark-gray or brownish-black and white scales, generally appearing gray; fi ve black transverse lines; spots obsolete in most species, reniform and/or orbicular spot a small patch or bar of dark scales in a few species.Dorsal hindwing -usually lighter in color than forewing, poorly marked with several diff use gray bands, or entirely gray in some forms.Abdomen -cylindrical, plump, longer in female, without tufts, clothed in short, stiff hair.Male genitaliavalve simple but robust, heavily sclerotized with prominent erect clasper at distal end of sacculus; tegumen with a pair of large ear-like subuncal lobes; uncus highly modifi ed, laterally compressed with high rounded crown sloping down and tapering to a narrow terminus; aedeagus cylindrical, slightly expanded at terminus in some species; vesica a membranous sac, armed with 1-3 large sclerotized cornuti in all but one species.Female genitalia -sterigma in all but one species well-developed, massively sclerotized in P. judyae group; ductus bursae variable in size and proportions, sclerotized or partially sclerotized in most species, usually folded or twisted and with a thickened wall; corpus bursae a simple translucent oval or oblong sac, with thick-walled upper and thin-walled lower section in P. furcilla group; signa absent.Small (FW length 14-15 mm); wing pattern blurred or appearing out of focus; uncus obsolete (Fig. 45); aedeagus without sclerotized cornuti, but armed with patch of many soft fl eshy-appearing spines (Figs.Etymology.Th e name is Latin and means "not Panthea," and refers to the unusual structure of the genitalia, which diff er so much in appearance from other American Panthea.

Key to the New World
Diagnosis.Th e typical Panthea pattern will identify P. apanthea to genus, and the very small size will separate it from all other western Panthea, with the possible excep-tion of very small males of P. judyae.Th e lack of any sharply contrasting black lines on the forewings will separate it from all other Panthea.Internally the lack of sclerotized spines on the vesica and the lack of a heavily sclerotized sterigma are unique to P. apanthea, and unusual for Panthea.
Description.Male and female moderately dimorphic, female larger and with darker hindwing than male; forewing length: 4-15 mm (male), 18 mm (female).Head -male antenna bipectinate, pectinations approximately 1.5 × as long as width of antennal shaft, female antenna simple; palps greatly reduced, clothed in dark brownish-gray hair-like scales.Th orax -collar, thorax and tegulae a mix of dark black-brown and white hair-like scales; tegulae with two poorly defi ned oblique bands; femur and tibia clothed in a mixture of black and white hair; tarsus banded black and white.Dorsal forewing -with an even mixture of brownish-black and white scales, appearing gray.Lines black but not strongly contrasting with ground and diffi cult to trace.Basal line indicated by a small patch of black scales, antemedial line black, complete, more prominent than other lines, straight to anal vein, bending distad before continuing to lower margin; medial line faint, slightly erratic, less prominent than basal line and diffi cult to trace in some specimens, merging or nearly so with black scales at end of cell; postmedial line slightly more prominent and more erratic, bending distad at fold and wandering outward toward costa; subterminal line erratic, bordered on distal side mainly on upper half by a few white scales; terminal line black, broken at veins; fringe black, lightly checkered with white at veins.Normal spots obsolete, except reniform spot indicated by a small, dark, poorly defi ned crescent or bar at end of cell; veins lightly lined with dark scales.Dorsal hindwing (male) -white with four very faint diff use bands formed by tiny hair-like scattered gray scales, with long pale-gray hairs along inner margin and a dark gray-black terminal line; fringe dark gray black, lightly checkered at veins.Dorsal hindwing (female) -as in male, but with a heavier dusting of small dark scales forming wider bands, appearing light gray overall.Abdomen -covered with short stiff brownishblack and white hair-like scales.Male genitalia -(Fig.45) valve relatively short, sacculus large, extending two-thirds distance across valve, with rows of small sawlike teeth along inner ridge; cucullus extending only a short distance beyond clasper, ending in a small wing-like fl ap folding in toward clasper; clasper large with almost half length extending past upper margin of valve, straight, tapering to a wide base; tegumen with ear-like subuncal lobes; uncus nearly obsolete, reduced to a pair of widely spaced fl at rounded lobes, reminiscent of arachnid palps; aedeagus 2 × as long ventrally as dorsally; infl ated vesica a short oblong sac, about 2 × as long as wide, exiting aedeagus at 90 degrees dorsad, with a large teardrop-shaped fi eld of densely packed fl eshy-appearing spines on right side near terminus; ductus exiting from terminus of vesica, oriented anteriorly.Female genitalia -(Fig.58) papillae anales large, soft, oblong, with sparse fi ne long setae; posterior and anterior apophyses approximately equal in size and of average length; sterigma poorly developed, lightly sclerotized, with two large shallow indentations above ostium; ductus bursae short, wide, expanding into a thicker walled wrinkled section with a series of parallel wrinkled and sclerotized "gullies" along dorsal wall, widening gradually into an oblong, thin-walled translucent corpus bursae, without signa; ductus seminalis exiting dorsad on upper right.
Distribution and biology.Panthea apanthea is known from only 10 specimens and from only three areas in the southwestern United States; Coconino County and Apache County (White Mountains) in Arizona, and El Paso County in east-central Colorado (Fig. 69).It has been collected at moderate elevations (1500-2150 m) during the fi rst three weeks of August.Nothing else is known of its biology.
Remarks.Th e essentially obsolete uncus, poorly developed sterigma, and the replacement of the one to three large cornuti found on the aedeagus in all other species of New World Panthea by a dense patch of fl eshy spines (Fig. 45), are all unique among the New World Panthea.However, similar fi elds of small spines are present in other genera of Pantheinae e.g., Lichnoptera decora (Morrison) (Fig. 44), Colocasia coryli (L.), as well as in Panthea ronnyi Th ony, recently described from North Vietnam (Th ony 1996).Th is suggests that the large sclerotized cornuti present in all other New World taxa is a derived character, and that P. apanthea is the most basal of the New World Panthea.Panthea apanthea has such divergent genitalia that an argument could be made for placing it in a genus of its own; however, in all other characters (form of the bipectinate antenna in male; reduced, apparently non-functional mouthparts and palps; overall color and pattern) it is placed in Panthea to maintain a more inclusive concept of the genus.DNA 'barcode' fragment data of cox1 mtDNA (Ratnasingham and Hebert 2007) also places apanthea with Panthea.

Panthea reducta species-group
Th e Panthea reducta species-group includes only P. reducta.Etymology.Th e name refers to the greatly reduced size and density of scales on the hindwing.

Panthea reducta
Diagnosis.P. reducta can be recognized as a Panthea by the typical Panthea forewing pattern, and by structural characters including the reduced and apparently non-functional mouthparts and characteristic modifi ed Panthea uncus.Th e glassy translucent hindwing is unique in Panthea.It is also the only Panthea known from the Caribbean.Females are unknown.
Description.Head -male antenna bipectinate, pectinations about 2 × as long as width of antennal shaft; head and collar clothed in long dense white, lightgray, and brown-black hair-like scales.Th orax -with long dense white and black hair-like scales, tegulae crossed midway and along edge by poorly defi ned dark bands.Dorsal forewing -length 16-18 mm, (n=4), ground a mixture of white, gray-brown and black scales; basal line indicated by a small patches of black scales; antemedial line black, erratic, angled distad at anal vein; medial line broad, incomplete and poorly defi ned, most prominent as patches of black scales below cubital vein and at and below costa; postmedial line black, slightly erratic, angled outward below vein Cu2, defi ned by white scales bordering distal side; subterminal line parallel to postmedial line, starting at anal angle, almost obsolete and defi ned by white scales outlining distal border; fringe gray with bright white outer edge, checkered with white at veins.Dorsal hindwing -translucent, clothed in tiny hair-like black scales, some fi nely forked at the tip under magnifi cation, mixed with sparse long dark hair, densest along inner margin; white scales confi ned to small area along upper and lower margin; fringe black, with white tips in some specimens, checkered at veins with white; wing membrane exposed by reduced scales, glassy, translucent, allowing the lettering on label below to be clearly discerned through wing.Abdomen -clothed in short stiff lead-gray and white hair-like scales.Male genitalia -(Fig.47) valve simple, short and broad, approximately 2 × as long as wide; cucullus bluntly rounded; clasper well-developed, slightly fl attened, rod-like with a blunt tip, about ½ as long as width of valve at midpoint; tegumen with pair of small subuncal lobes; uncus approximately 2 × as wide as high, resembling a duck's beak; tapering gradually to a broad, blunt terminus; aedeagus short, thick, about 3 × as long as wide; infl ated vesica bulbous, short, wide, shaped like a hammer head, armed with a single large sharp curved cornutus on dorsal side near base, oriented anteriorly; ductus seminalis exits near base of vesica on dorsal side.
Distribution and biology.P. reducta has been collected at 1800 m elevation in a Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis Swartz) forest in Sierra de Bahoruco National Park in the Dominican Republic (Fig. 70).Hispaniolan pine is the presumed larval host.

Panthea judyae species-group
Th e Panthea judyae species-group is comprised of three species that occur in pine forests of western North America south to Guatemala in Central America: P. judyae, P. gigantea, and P. guatemala.Th e group is characterized by a large bifurcate scoop-shaped clasper, bulbous vesica with two large curved cornuti and anterior oriented ductus in the male, and a large, massively sclerotized sterigma in the female.Additional material examined.4 ♂, 1 ♀ from northern Mexico that are slightly larger and darker than the type material and have been excluded from the type series.Two additional male specimens from Arizona missing abdomens are also excluded: Mexico: Chihuahua, Sierra de la Catarina, 18 road miles southwest Buenaventura, 2408Buenaventura, m. el., 21.viii.1976Cochise Co., Huachuca Mountains, Sunnyside, 9.vii.1958, Lloyd Martin, coll. (2 ♂).

Panthea judyae
Etymology.I take pleasure in naming this moth after my wife, Judy Weisgarber, in appreciation for her patience and support in her role as "moth widow." Diagnosis.Th e combination of small size (male FW length 16-19.5 mm; female 22 mm) and white hindwing will separate P. judyae from all other Panthea except P. apanthea.Th e more complete and strongly contrasting black lines on the forewing and the massive sterigma and prominent uncus will separate P. judyae from P. apanthea.
Description.Sexually dimorphic, female signifi cantly larger and with darker hindwing than male; forewing length of male 17-19 mm, female 21-22 mm; male with bipectinate antenna, female with simple antenna.Head -male antenna with pectinations 1.5 x as long as width of antennal shaft; palps reduced, clothed in dark gray and black scales, frons light gray with scattered black hair-like scales.Th orax -collar and thorax a mixture of light-gray, dark-gray and black hair-like scales; tegulae with two oblique black stripes; legs densely covered with long brownish-black and gray hairs; tarsus banded light gray and black.Dorsal forewing -grizzled or powdery gray, produced by an even mixture of very pale-gray and dark brownish-black narrow scales; basal line indicated by a few black scales; antemedial line prominent, black, straight; medial line similar to antemedial line but angled slightly toward base between veins CuA2 and 1A+2A; postmedial line more oblique, angled toward base below vein M3, approaching or meeting medial line between veins CuA2 and 1A+2A before angling slightly distally before reaching lower margin; subterminal line erratic and mostly obsolete, marked with black from costa to near vein M1, then traceable by lighter scales bordering distal side; veins on outer third of wing lightly lined with dark scales; fringe dark brownish black with scattered white scales; reniform spot faintly indicated at end of cell by an oval or crescent of darker scales.Female forewing proportionally broader than male; color and markings as in male but slightly darker gray.Dorsal hindwing -male white with long gray hair along the inner margin and small patches of light-gray scales along leading edge, at cell, and forming an indistinct postmedial band ending in a gray patch where it meets margin at anal angle; veins lined with gray brown scales; terminal line narrow, brownish black; fringe white with scattered dark scales.Female hindwing darker than that of male, crossed by three broad, poorly defi ned gray bands with areas between bands mixed with scattered gray scales creating an overall gray tone hardly contrasting with forewing; fringe an even mix of dark and light scales, with white scales marking veins.Abdomen -with short, stiff brownish-gray scales, paler at joints and appearing slightly banded.Male genitalia -(Fig.46) valves simple in form, heavily sclerotized, cucullus rounded to a rough ragged terminus; clasper scoop-shaped with double bladelike arms, upper arm extending across valve to or just beyond upper margin, lower arm much shorter and buttressing upper arm; tegumen with two ear-like subuncal lobes; uncus with a wide base and raised crown ridge, tapering to a narrow, rounded terminus; aedeagus short, curving down and fl aring into a plate-like extension on lower side, which appears to support infl ated bulbous vesica that exits aedeagus ventrad at almost 90 degrees; vesica armed with a large slightly curved cornutus on right side near base and a similar but much smaller cornutus at apex; vesica tapering abruptly into a long narrow dorsally oriented ductus seminalis.Female genitalia -(Fig.59) papillae anales a pair of soft, curved bands clothed with sparse long hair; sterigma massive, heavily sclerotized, fused above ostium; ductus bursae short and very broad, thickly sclerotized for about ½ its length, slightly farther on right side, narrowing abruptly to neck of nonsclerotized thin-walled teardrop-shaped corpus bursae; bursa covered in rows of minute spicules visible under higher magnifi cation; without signa.
Distribution and biology.Panthea judyae has been collected in the Mogollon and Big Burro Mountains of southwestern New Mexico, the Huachuca Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and the Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Mexico, at elevations of 1800-2400 m (Fig. 69).Collection dates range from July 9-August 28.Two of the Arizona specimens were collected in Ponderosa pine forest.

Panthea gigantea (French)
Figs. 6-9, 48, 60, 70 Platycerura gigantea French 1890: 134.Panthea gigantea (French); Smith 1891: 34;Franclemont and Todd 1963: 134.Diphthera gigantea (French); Draudt in Seitz 1924: 18. Type material.Platycerura gigantea was described by French from a single male received from David Bruce from Colorado, where he is known to have traveled and collected widely (Brown 1966).A search for the type, which was retained by French (Smith 1893), has been unsuccessful and it is apparently lost, possibly in the fi re that destroyed much of his collection in 1892 (Southern Illinois University Carbondale 2009).As it appears the present concept of P. gigantea may encompass more than a single taxon, the following neotype is designated to establish stability of the name: Neotype male -"CO [Colorado]  Diagnosis.Panthea gigantea is on average the largest New World species of Panthea with some females having a wingspan in excess of 6 cm.Only P. guatemala from southern Mexico and Guatemala and some populations of P. virginarius from the western USA overlap P. gigantea in size.Th e male of P. gigantea can be recognized by the combination of large size (FW length 22-27.5 mm), dark gray-black, or graybrown (Mexico only) forewing and contrasting white hindwing, and can be separated from all other New World Panthea by the unique bifurcate uncus.Th e female of P. gigantea can be separated from that of P. guatemala by range (Fig. 70) and by the much less extensively sclerotized ductus bursae of P. gigantea (Fig. 60) and from the female of P. virginarius (Fig. 61) by the much larger and more heavily sclerotized sterigma of P. gigantea.
Distribution and biology.Panthea gigantea is found throughout much of the warmer and drier regions of western North America from south-central British Columbia, Canada south to the state of Durango, Mexico and from the Black Hills of South Dakota, western Nebraska and the Texas Panhandle west to Washington, Oregon and the coast of California (Fig. 70).Panthea gigantea is replaced in the cooler and more humid Pacifi c Northwest and northern Rocky Mountain regions by P. virginarius.Panthea gigantea is associated with Ponderosa pine forest (Pinus ponderosa Dougl.[ex Laws.]), and Ponderosa pine is the only known larval host.(Duncan 2006;Anweiler unpub.).Th e larva of P. gigantea was illustrated in color by Duncan (2006).
Remarks.Compared to material from farther north and west, specimens of P. gigantea from Arizona and New Mexico show diff erences in the genitalia of both sexes, including in the proportions and shape of the valve in the male and the width and length of the ductus bursae in the female.DNA 'barcode' fragment data of cox1 mtD-NA for 6 specimens from Arizona and New Mexico show a mean diff erence of about 1.7 % from two specimens from Idaho and British Columbia, and sequence from a single specimen from west central California is about 1.8 % divergent from the Idaho-British Columbia samples and about 0.8 % divergent from the Arizona-New Mexico samples (Anweiler unpublished data).Th e forewings of the four Mexican specimens examined are gray brown instead of gray black with a less "powdery" appearance, so the antemedial, medial and postmedial lines contrast much more prominently than on non-Mexican material (Figs. 8,9).Additional and more recent material is needed in order to evaluate the taxonomic status of these diff erent P. gigantea populations.Etymology.Th e name refers to the country Guatemala, where the holotype and much of the type series originated.

Panthea guatemala
Diagnosis.Panthea guatemala is externally very similar to P. gigantea from northern Mexico.Th eir large size will separate them from all other Mexican Panthea except P. gigantea.Both sexes of P. guatemala can be separated from P. gigantea by range (Fig. 70) and by genitalic characters, the male by the narrow fused uncus (Fig. 49), which is bifurcate in P. gigantea, and the female by the laterally compressed and heavily sclerotized ductus bursae of P. guatemala (Fig. 61).Both sexes of P. guatemala have a faint but consistent white streak on the lower forewing from just basad of the antemedial line to just beyond the postmedial line; this streak is absent or much fainter in P. gigantea.
Description.Sexually dimorphic; female larger and with broader forewing and darker hindwing than male; forewing length of male 22-25 mm, female 27-28 mm.Head -male antenna bipectinate with pectinations about 1.5 × as long as width of antennal shaft; female antenna simple; palps and frons a mix of dark brownish-gray and white hair-like scales.Th orax -collar and thorax a mix of dark brownish-gray and white hair-like scales; tegulae crossed by two diff use oblique brownish-black bands; legs densely covered with long wooly gray-black and white hairs; tarsi banded white and gray.Dorsal forewing (male) -a mix of white and brownish-gray scales producing a smooth pale brownish-gray ground; basal line poorly marked; antemedial, medial and postmedial lines prominent, black; basal and antemedial lines straight or nearly so, medial line sinuous, bending outward at cubital vein then continuing almost straight to lower margin; postmedial line straight to vein M2, then bending inward and connecting with medial line in fold, diverging outward just before reaching lower margin; subterminal line nearly obsolete, very erratic, curving inward between veins M1 and M3, M3 and CuA1, CuA1 and 1A+2A, and defi ned by abrupt shift from gray to white scales, shading back to gray prior to reaching margin.A short, thin poorly defi ned black bar marks end of cell, and a faint diff use white dash runs parallel to and below cubital vein between antemedial and postmedial lines.Fringe gray brown lightly checkered with white scales at veins.Dorsal forewing (female) -as in male but broader, more rounded and with fewer white scales and therefore darker overall.Dorsal hindwing (male) -white with long gray-brown hair, darkest in basal area and along inner margin; leading edge light gray; poorly defi ned faint light-gray medial and postmedial bands, latter terminating in a patch of gray at anal angle; narrow dark-gray terminal line; veins narrowly lined with dark gray; fringe white with a few dark scales between veins.Dorsal hindwing (female) -suff used with gray, medial band narrow, postmedial band much wider leaving only a narrow band of lighter scales along margin; terminal line wider than in male; fringe dark gray with a few white scales, checkered with white at veins.Abdomen -clothed with stiff brownish-gray hair.Male genitalia -(Fig.49) valves simple, heavily sclerotized, cucullus rounded to a blunt ragged point; clasper large, scoop-shaped with double blade-like arms, inner branch longer, extending beyond upper margin of valve; tegumen with two large squared subuncal lobes; uncus fl attened laterally with high rounded crown curving down, ending in narrow terminus bluntly to sharply truncated; aedeagus about 4 × as long as wide, somewhat fl attened, fl aring at terminus; vesica bulbous, tapering gradually into long ductus seminalis angled dorsad at about 45 degrees, oriented anteriorly; armed with two large cornuti, one on right near base, other larger and near crown.Female genitalia -(Fig.61) papillae anales large, soft, thinly covered with stiff hairs, fused at base on dorsal side; sterigma massive, rounded, relatively smooth; ductus bursae wide, twisted to right, compressed laterally, thickly sclerotized for half its length or more before gradually fl aring into corpus bursae; corpus bursae an oblong thin-walled sac, without signa.
Distribution and biology.Panthea guatemala has been collected in the mountains of Guatemala and the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas in adjacent southern Mexico at elevations of 1580-1850 m (Fig. 70).Collection dates range from late May to late July (Mexico) and early November (Guatemala).Th e Guatemala specimens were collected in pine-oak forest at 1700 m.

Panthea furcilla species-group
Th e P. furcilla species-group is closely related to the P. acronytoides group.It includes two species, P. furcilla (Packard) and P. greyi sp.n.Panthea furcilla is further segregated into two subspecies, with P. furcilla australis ssp.n. described as new.Th e group is characterized by the long, narrow vesica, 3-5 x as long as wide when everted and infl ated, armed with a large terminal cornutus , and by the elongated corpus bursae, partially constricted mesially forming a thick-walled outer section and a translucent thin-walled inner section .
Panthea furcilla furcilla 54,65,71 Platycerura furcilla Packard, 1864: 3: 331 Diagnosis.Th e genitalic characters defi ning the P. furcilla species-group (infl ated vesica elongate with a single terminal cornutus in the male; corpus bursae partially constricted creating two sections in the female) will separate P. furcilla from all other Panthea except P. greyi.Th e male of P. furcilla can be separated from that of P. greyi by range (P.greyi west of the Great Plains from Colorado south, P. furcilla in Canada and eastern United States east of the Great Plains), and by the much smaller, straighter, terminal cornutus on the vesica.Th e female of P. greyi has a wide ductus bursae that gradually expands into the corpus bursae; P. furcilla has a narrow ductus that expands abruptly into bursa.Nominate P. furcilla can be separated from ssp. australis by the second, smaller cornutus near the base of the vesica in australis.
Distribution and biology.Panthea furcilla occurs widely in coniferous woodlands, in particular pine forests, throughout eastern USA and eastern Canada, from eastern Texas east to Florida, north to the northern edge of the boreal forest in Canada, west to northeastern British Columbia (Fig. 71).Adults fl y almost year round at the southern edge of the range in Texas and Louisiana (V.Brou pers.comm.), with the fl ight period shortening to June and July in boreal Canada.
Remarks.For the past 50 years, since McDunnough (1942) treated pallescens as a species apart from P. furcilla, the name pallescens has generally been applied at the species level to the smaller, lighter gray populations of Panthea occurring widely across the northeastern United States and boreal Canada; they are characterized as having a single cornutus on the vesica.Th e name furcilla has generally been used for the larger, darker Panthea in southeastern United States that has a second smaller "rose-thorn" cornutus on the vesica near the base.McDunnough sent specimens from eastern Canada and from New Jersey to a Dr. Banks to compare with the type of furcilla in MCZ, and based on the response he received, concluded that the male genitalia of furcilla had a short, thick pointed cornutus in the vesica and an apical spine of the so called rosethorn type.Th e primaries were of a rather even purplish gray with all cross-lines very heavy and black with scarcely any white edging except on the outside of the subterminal line (McDunnough 1942).Based on this information, McDunnough elevated the pale northern population that he had initially described as ssp.pallescens to species status (McDunnough 1942).However, examination of images of the male type of furcilla and in particular the genitalic slide, shows clearly that the type of furcilla is a specimen of the smaller, paler northern Panthea lacking the second "rose-thorn" cornutus, and that the name pallescens is a junior synonym of furcilla.
Th e relationship of these two forms, one smaller and paler with a single cornutus and one larger and darker with a second cornutus (and corresponding diff erences in the female genitalia) is problematic.Th ere is no clear-cut boundary between the two populations, and no place where the two occur together.Although diff ering significantly from each other in size, color and genitalic structures over most of their range, specimens gradually shift in all characters from one type to the other across a band from Kentucky north and east through southern Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey 66).Th is appears to be another example of a species separated during the last glacial maximum into populations northwest and southeast of the Appalachians that have since re-established contact, as has been proposed for Grammia virgo by Schmidt (in press).Arguments can be made for recognizing these two taxa as either species or as subspecies; however based on the fact that they show a progressive gradation from one form to the other in color, pattern and genitalic structures, as well as the fact that the two forms do not occur together anywhere, I treat these populations as a single species.Th e southern form is described as a new subspecies.
True melanic specimens of P. furcilla (Fig. 18) are common in some populations of nominate form in eastern United States (Klots 1964, Klots 1966, Klots 1968;Ginevan 1971).Melanic specimens are overall sooty brown with the black lines standing out.Form atrescens (Fig. 16) from Ontario and Quebec is a black and white form, very different in appearance from true melanic specimens.Etymology.Australis is Latin for southern and refers to the fact that australis occupies the southern part of the range of P. furcilla.

Panthea furcilla australis
Diagnosis.Panthea furcilla australis can be separated from all Panthea species other than those of the P. furcilla species-group by the characters given above in the P. furcilla species-group diagnosis.Th e larger size, darker gray color and in particular the presence of a second cornutus on the vesica of the male, will separate males of australis from those of both P. greyi and nominate P. furcilla.Females of ssp.australis can be recognized by the larger size and darker color, and by the narrow sclerotized strap-like ductus bursae with few folds compared to the narrow and fi nely corrugated ductus of nominate P. furcilla and wide, deeply wrinkled ductus of P. greyi.Intermediate specimens from the zone of contact along the northwestern side of the Appalachian Mountains, from Kentucky north and east to southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, can be recognized by the gradual loss of the australis characters, and in particular in the gradual reduction in the size of the smaller cornutus in the vesica of the male.Th ese three taxa are also separated by range, with australis in southeastern United States, nominate furcilla in the northeastern United States and Canada, and P. greyi in the southwestern United States (Fig. 71).
Description.Sexes dimorphic, with female larger and darker than male; male forewing length 18-22 mm; female forewing 24-25 mm.Head -male a ntenna bipectinate, female antenna simple; Palps reduced, clothed in dark red-brown and black scales.Th orax -and tegulae a mixture of dark red-brown and pale gray or white hairlike scales, appearing gray; tegulae with an oblique black medial band and black edging.Dorsal forewing -ground a mixture of black and white scales, appearing light gray powdered with black, crossed by fi ve prominent black lines; Basal line indicated by small patches of black scales, antemedial line complete, straight or nearly so, medial line complete, angled distad slightly in most specimens to meet postmedial line in fold before separating and slanting basad to lower margin; postmedial line similar in form to medial line to about vein M1, bending basad to meet medial line in fold before angling distad to lower margin; subterminal line broad, erratic, usually incomplete, jutting outward between veins R4 and R5, at veins M1 and M2, and at lower margin of wing; area distad to lower postmedial line and in particular distad to subterminal line suff used with white scales; fringe dark gray or black, checkered with white at veins; faint pale gray longitudinal streak on basal half of wing above and below cubital vein.Dorsal hindwing -dull gray, slightly darker in basal half, with faint dark medial band, diff use postmedial band; terminal band white, incomplete, often reduced to a narrow marginal patch of white scales, especially in female; fringe white between veins with gray on veins.Abdomen -clothed in short, stiff light and dark-gray hair-like scales.Male genitalia -(Fig.55) valve simple, cucullus tapering to a blunt terminus; clasper simple, fl at, blade-like s-shaped, arising from lower margin at distal end of sacculus, approximately as long as valve is wide at that point; tegumen with large triangular subuncal lobes; uncus laterally compressed with a high crown, tapering to a rounded terminus with a fl attened tip; aedeagus 4-5 × as long as wide, slightly bent ventrad, expanding at apex, terminating in a semi-detached or detached plate on left side bearing a prominent, sharp cornutus; infl ated vesica long and narrow, approximately 4 × as long as wide, bending ventrad near base and expanding into a slight pouch before gradually tapering to terminus; armed with a large, sharp terminal cornutus; ductus seminalis exiting at right-angle dorsad near base of vesica.Female genitalia -(Fig.67) papillae anales short, wide, soft, curved, with sparse setae; sterigma well-developed and sclerotized, but not massive; ductus bursae heavily sclerotized, strap-like, 3-4 × as long as wide, bent and twisted near middle with several longitudinal folds or corrugations in posterior half, expanding abruptly into a large oblong corpus bursae, partially constricted midway, forming approximately equal-sized upper and lower sections; upper section with partially sclerotized, thickened walls; lower section thin-walled, translucent; without signa.
Distribution and biology.P. furcilla australis occurs in pine woods throughout the southeastern United States from eastern Texas and Florida north approximately to Virginia (Fig. 71).A single specimen has also been seen from Oregon County in southeastern Missouri.Panthea furcilla australis intergrades with nominate P. furcilla in a band along the northwest side of the Appalachian Mountains; specimens from Kentucky, Maryland, southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey are variably intermediate.
A series of specimens in MSU labeled as collected in Starr County, Texas is assumed to be mislabeled, as there is no coniferous habitat in Starr Co. (C.Bordelon pers.comm.).

Panthea greyi
Etymology.I take pleasure in naming this species in honor of the late L. Paul Grey, who encouraged my budding interest in noctuid moths and who sent me the fi rst specimen of this new Panthea.
Diagnosis.Panthea greyi belongs to the P. furcilla species-group, and can be separated from all Panthea with the exception of P. furcilla by the characters listed in the diagnosis for the group, namely the elongate vesica with one terminal spine in the male and the two-chambered corpus bursae in the female.It can be separated from P. furcilla by range, with P. greyi occurring in southwestern United States west of the Great Plains and P. furcilla east of the Great Plains in eastern United States and north of the Great Plains in Canada.Externally, P. greyi is most similar to Panthea virginarius and Panthea acronytoides nigra.P. virginarius occurs west and north of the range of P. greyi.Panthea acronyctoides nigra may occur with P. greyi in northern Colorado where P. greyi can be recognized by the light, banded hindwing and P. acronyctoides by the dark hindwing, as well as by the genitalic characters.Panthea gigantea is a larger species with two cornuti in the male vesica and a single chambered, thin-walled corpus bursae in the female.
Description.Sexes similar and overlapping in size, female only slightly darker than male; male forewing length 19-22.5 mm, female 21-25 mm.Head -Male antenna bipectinate, with pectinations about 2 × as long as width of antennal shaft; female antenna simple; palps reduced, both palps and lower part of frons clothed in dark redbrown or black hairs; remainder of head a mixture of light-gray, dark-brown and black hair-like scales.Th orax -collar, thorax and tegulae a mixture of light gray, dark brown and black hair-like scales; tegulae crossed by two oblique dark bands midway and along outer edge; legs clothed in dense long light gray and dark gray hair, tarsus banded black and white.Dorsal forewing -ground a mix of white or very light gray and dark brownish-black scales, appearing powdery gray; crossed by fi ve black lines; basal line marked by one or two small patches of black scales; antemedial line straight or nearly so, bending distad in fold before continuing to wing margin; medial line most prominent, straight except for bending distad slightly in fold before reaching lower margin; postmedial line narrower, erratic, bent distad at each vein and angling basad below vein CUA1, contacting or closely approaching medial line below veins CuA2 before bending distad to lower margin of wing; subterminal line incomplete, often reduced to a few dark patches of scales near upper margin, erratic, defi ned by white scales along distal side; fringe dark gray black, checkered with a few white scales at veins; small black bar or crescent marking the end of the cell.Abdomen -clothed in short, stiff dark gray-brown hair, paler at joints.Dorsal hindwing -white with long gray hair-like scales along inner margin, crossed by poorly defi ned light gray antemedial, medial and postmedial bands and with a narrow dark gray terminal line; fringe checkered with dark gray and white; veins narrowly lined with dark scales.Male genitalia -(Fig.57) valve simple, elongate, cucullus rounded, clasper a simple prominent blade near apex, about as long as width of valve; tegumen with large triangular earlike subuncal lobes; uncus laterally compressed with crown approximately as high as wide; ending in a rounded terminus resembling a duck's beak viewed from above; infl ated and everted vesica long, narrow, about 3-4 × as long as wide, angled to left midway and armed with a single massive slightly bent or curved terminal cornutus, oriented toward head; ductus seminalis exiting midway at right angle to right.Female genitalia -(Fig.68) papillae anales a pair of soft curved bands with sparse hairs; posterior and anterior apophyses about equal in size and of average length; sterigma well-developed, average in size and amount of sclerotization; ductus bursae wide, about 2 × as long as wide, mostly heavily sclerotized with deep creases and folds, expanding gradually into posterior section of corpus bursae; corpus bursae slightly constricted midway, forming a thick-walled and partially sclerotized posterior section united with lower half of ductus, and a thin-walled, translucent globular anterior section.
Distribution and biology.Panthea greyi has been collected in the mountains of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and southern Utah, at elevations of 1524-2545 m (Fig. 71).Collection dates range from June 6 through September 23.It has been collected in Arizona in oak-pine woodland.

Panthea acronyctoides species-group
Th e P. acronyctoides species-group contains a single species pair, P. acronyctoides and P. virginarius, with P. acronyctoides populations arranged into two subspecies.Th e male is characterized by the bulbous vesica armed with a pair of unequal-sized cornuti, the female by the globular or oval single chambered corpus bursae and a short wide ductus, about 2 × as long as wide.Both species have populations with a strongly contrasting black and white pattern, very similar in external appearance to each other and to the Palaearctic species P. coenobita (Esper), but not found in any other North American species.Th e P. acronytoides group appears to be most closely related to the P. furcilla group.DNA cox-1barcode sequence data shows little diff erentiation within or between the two groups (Anweiler unpubl.data).
Type material.Audela acronyctoides: Holotype male, Montcalm Co., Quebec, Canada, in CNC.Th e holotype male is in poor condition (photograph examined).Panthea leucomelana: described by Morrison from 2 specimens, from Maine and New Hampshire.According to Smith (1893), Morrison's type is in the Tepper collection, which resides in MSU.Th ere is a single specimen, from "Maine" in the Tepper collection at MSU, presumed to be one of the two Morrison types; the other specimen is apparently lost (Wilterding 1997).Th e Maine specimen bears a Lectotype label placed there by J. H. Wilterding; however this action was never published (Wilterding pers. comm.).I hereby designate this specimen as Lectotype of P. leucomelana Morrison.A label printed on red cardstock reading "LECTOTYPE"/ Panthea / leucomelana Morrison / G.G. Anweiler" will be affi xed to this specimen.
Diagnosis.Th roughout most of its range, nominate Panthea acronyctoides can be recognized by smaller size and black and white or gray and white pattern.Th e only other Panthea species occurring with nominate P. acronyctoides is P. furcilla, a larger and darker gray and black species.In western North America, ssp.nigra, occurs with both P. greyi and P. virginarius.Both subspecies of P. acronyctoides can be separated from all other Panthea by the combination of a small spine and a second long thin spine on the male vesica, and smooth-walled ductus bursae with an expanded rim in the female.
Remarks.Although described as a subspecies by McDunnough, albosuff usa is clearly a form as pointed by Forbes (1954), who refers to a brood reared from eggs produced by a female albosuff usa that produced about ¼ albosuff usa, ¼ typical and ½ melanic specimens (Forbes 1954).Specimens of small dark dwarfed populations of P. acronyctoides have been seen from bogs in the southern four tiers of counties in Michigan.Th ese are much smaller and darker than P. acronyctoides found elsewhere, and are possibly environmentally induced by the cool wet habitat they occupy.Th e genitalia of these specimens do not diff er from those of typical P. acronyctodes except in size.
Distribution and biology.Nominate P. acronyctoides is found throughout much of the wooded parts of eastern and northern North America, from northern Georgia north to Newfoundland and Nunavut, west across the northeastern tier of states and southern and central Canada to Alberta.It intergrades with ssp.nigra in central Alberta (Fig. 72).Nominate P. acronyctoides occupies a range of coniferous habitats, including spruce, larch, fi r and mixed forest.

Panthea acronyctoides nigra
Etymology.Th e name nigra means black and refers to the overall dark color of the adults of both sexes.
Diagnosis.Panthea acronyctoides nigra can be separated from nominate P. acronyctoides by the overall dark coloration and by distribution, nigra in the foothills and mountains of western Alberta and British Columbia south to Colorado, nominate acronyctoides from central and eastern Alberta eastward (Fig. 72).Specimens in central Alberta are intermediate.Subspecies nigra occurs with both P. greyi (Colorado) and P. virginarius (north of Colorado).Th e three species can be very similar in external appearance, but are easily separated by genitalic characters.Th e male of ssp.nigra (Fig. 52) has two spines on a bulbous vesica, one of which is long and thin, whereas P. greyi (Fig. 56) has a single massive spine on an elongate vesica.Th e male of nigra can be separated from those of P. virginarius by the lack of the massive, curved spine near the base of the vesica present in P. virginarius (Figs. 50,51) Th e female of nigra can be separated from those of both P. greyi and P. virginarius by the smooth-walled ductus bursae with an expanded rim (Fig. 63); the ductus bursae in P. virginarius (Fig. 62) and P. greyi (Fig. 68) is wrinkled or folded and without an infl ated rim.
Description.Sexes similar, except female on average slightly larger and darker than male; Forewing length 18-21 mm.Head -male antenna bipectinate, female simple; male antennal pectinations about 1.25-1.5 × as long as width of antennal shaft; palps reduced, covered in gray-brown hairs; head and collar gray.Th oraxgray; tegulae gray with two oblique black stripes; legs clothed in long gray hair; tarsus banded blackish brown and light gray.Dorsal forewing -ground color a mixture of brownish-black and white scales producing a powdery dark gray appearance, crossed by fi ve black lines that can be diffi cult to trace against the dark background in many specimens; basal line indicated by a small patch of black scales; antemedial line slightly erratic, angled basad below veins R and M and angled distad below vein 1A+2A; medial line wider and more prominent than other lines, shallowly zigzagged, bending distad below vein 1A+2A; postmedial line narrow, dragged outward at each vein, bending basad below vein M3 and approaching me-dial line, fusing with medial line for a short distance in some specimens before angling distad between veins CuA2 and 1A+2A; subterminal line most prominent near costa, angled sharply distad between veins R5 and M1, becoming diff use and diffi cult to trace below, bordered on distal side by lighter gray or white scales; fringe dark gray or black, checkered with small patches of white scales at veins; orbicular spot indicated by a small patch of dark scales in some specimens, and reniform spot by a small crescent or bar at end of cell.Abdomen -clothed in a mixture of short stiff dark-brown and dirty-white hair, appearing faintly banded at joints.Dorsal hindwing -dark brownish gray with faint darker gray medial and postmedial bands, shading to a narrow dark terminal line; veins lightly lined with dark scales; usually with a faint white streak or small patch of white scales near lower margin; fringe white, lightly checkered with gray between veins.Male genitalia -(Fig.55).valve simple; sacculus with a prominent clasper at distal end, s-shaped, fl attened blade-like with a rounded terminus, approximately as long as width of valve at midpoint, supported at base with a small buttress; cucullus bluntly pointed; tegumen with a pair of large rounded or triangular subuncal lobes; uncus modifi ed, laterally compressed with a high crown, about as high as wide, tapering very gradually to a very narrow terminus; aedeagus 3-4 × as long as wide; everted infl ated vesica small, rounded, globular, tapering into a long narrow ductus seminalis, oriented distad at a shallow angle, armed with two cornuti, smaller cornutus on right side near apex, second cornutus much longer, thin, straight or slightly recurved, on left side closer to apex.Female genitalia -(Fig.68) papillae anales squared, soft, clothed with sparse fi ne setae; sterigma well-developed but not massive, smooth; ductus bursae short and wide, about 2 × as long as wide, with smooth thick walls, expanding into a smooth rim around ostium, resembling mouth of a milk-bottle; corpus bursae a large, thin-walled single-chambered oval or slightly teardrop shaped sac, with rows of minute spicules over much of surface; without signa.
Distribution and biology.Subspecies nigra replaces nominate P. acronyctoides in the foothills and mountains of western Alberta westward to central British Columbia and southward in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado; a disjunct population is in the Black Hills of South Dakota (Fig. 72).In Alberta and in the Black Hills of South Dakota, nigra has been collected at elevations of 1220-1370 m, in Wyoming and Colorado to 3050 m.Subspecies nigra occurs in Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.ex Loud.) forests.Five reared specimens from British Columbia in the CNC were obtained from larvae collected on Lodgepole pine.Adult collection dates range from June 8 through August 13.

Panthea virginarius
Panthea virginaria suff usa: described from a holotype male from Dixon Creek, Barriere, British Columbia, Canada.Th e specimen was reared from a larva collected from Picea englemanni.(Type #5282 in CNC).Adult and genitalic slide examined.
Diagnosis.Panthea virginarius varies greatly in size and color pattern depending on location and habitat.Both sexes of P. virginarius can be very diffi cult to separate from those of P. gigantea where they occur together unless genitalic characters are used.Th e tip of the uncus can usually be examined without dissection by brushing the scales from the end of the abdomen; the male of P. gigantea has a bifurcate tip to the uncus (Fig. 48), P. virginarius does not (Fig. 50).Females can be separated by the structure of the sterigma, which is much larger and more massively sclerotized in P. gigantea (Fig. 60) than in P. virginarius (Fig. 62).Black and white specimens of P. virginarius from southern British Columbia and Idaho (Fig. 35) have been mistaken for nominate P. acronyctoides (Fig. 36), but the two taxa are well separated by range (Figs. 69,72).In the Rocky Mountains from Alberta and British Columbia southward P. virginarius can be confused with P. acronyctoides nigra.Panthea virginarius is larger and the male has a paler, banded hindwing than nigra; females can be diff erentiated by examining the ductus, which is wrinkled in P. virginarius (Fig. 62), smooth with an expanded rim around the ostium in nigra (Fig. 63).
Distribution and biology.Panthea virginarius occurs mainly west and north of the Great Basin, from the coast of southern California northward to the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia and the Alaskan Panhandle, eastward to central California, northern Nevada, Idaho, northwestern Wyoming, western Montana, and southwest-ern Alberta; a disjunct population is in the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan (Fig. 69).Large black and white populations (syn."portlandia") occur along the coast from central California to southern British Columbia.Th ese are replaced by gray and black populations both farther north and farther south along the coast, and at higher elevations inland.Intermediate populations occur at lower elevations eastward as far as western Montana and extreme southwestern Alberta.
Panthea virginarius is found in coniferous forests, in particular but not confi ned to Douglas-fi r forest (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.)Franco) at elevations ranging from sea-level to near tree-line.
Remarks.Panthea virginarius appears in checklists as both the original spelling virginarius (e.g., Grote 1880; Poole 1989) and virginaria (e.g., Franclemont and Todd 1983) with the ending changed from the original spelling for gender congruity.Th e original spelling is used herein.
Th e taxonomy of Panthea virginarius has suff ered from the same plethora of errors as has occurred elsewhere in the genus, starting with Grote describing virginarius as a geometrid (Biston), and fi nishing with McDunnough describing suff usa as a form of portlandia because the P. virginarius specimens he used for comparison were misidentifi ed specimens of P. acronyctoides nigra.
Panthea angelica is a population of P. virginarius in southern coastal California (Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties).Internally it is identical to nominate virginarius, and externally diff ers only by being slightly more suff used with dark scales and thus appearing less powdery.Th e name angelica has been widely misapplied, both in the literature (e.g., Crumb 1956) and on museum specimens of P. greyi and P. acronyctoides nigra, lending weight to the apparently mistaken belief that angelica was a good species.
Panthea portlandia is the name that has been applied to the large and striking black and white coastal populations of P. virginarius that occur mainly at lower elevations from northern California to southwestern British Columbia.Inland, and at higher elevations, this form intergrades with typical P. virginarius, but some of the white shading of the portlandia phenotype is still evident as far east as western Montana and southwestern Alberta.Both white and gray forms occur together at some locations in central Washington.Th e genitalia are indistinguishable from those of typical P. virginarius, so the name portlandia is also placed in synonymy under P. virginarius.
Panthea portlandia suff usa was described by McDunnough after comparing it to what he believed were specimens of P. virginarius from Colorado and Alberta, but which were in fact specimens of P. acronyctoides nigra.Th is is evident from his description of the genitalia of P. virginarius, which accurately describes P. acronyctoides, not portlandia (McDunnough 1942).An examination of his slides in the CNC confi rms this.It also explains his puzzling (but accurate) statement that based on the genitalia slides of males from Colorado and Nordegg, Alberta, P. virginarius seemed to be merely a large western race of P. acronyctoides Walker (McDunnough 1942).
Specimens of P. virginarius from northwestern Wyoming tend to be lighter gray, and specimens from Wyoming and adjacent areas of Idaho tend to have the diverticulum of the vesica and its terminal spine greatly reduced in size, and occasionally obsolete.Th e various forms of P. virginarius vary greatly in both size and in the proportions of black and white scaling, and thus external appearance varies greatly over a very large geographic area.However, with the exception of specimens in a small area of northwestern Wyoming, little signifi cant variation occurs in the genitalia of either sex, and all are treated as forms rather than subspecies.Further study, particularly in California, may show that one or more populations there should be recognized at the subspecies level, e.g., a silvery-gray population on the Monterey Peninsula that has been reared on Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) (Frank Sala pers. comm.).