Acontia toddi Ferris &amp; Lafontaine 2009, sp. n.
Creators: name: Ferris, Clifford
name: Lafontaine, Donald
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Acontia
Acontia toddi

description: <i>Acontia toddi</i> Ferris &amp; Lafontaine, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 42BCF866-8C33-41A0-A615-A06EF216009B Figs. 1, 8-10, 19, 25, 31 <b>Type material.</b> <b>Holotype</b> ♁: Utah, Emery Co., San Rafael Reef area, 38° 39.2' N, 110° 43.1' W, 5500' (1675 m), 18-19 May, 1999, C. D. Ferris [CNC, Ottawa, Canada]. <b>Paratypes:</b> 10 ♁, 13 &amp;female;. UTAH: Beaver Co., Beaver, 6 mi E, 6300', D. F. Hardwick (2 &amp;female;); Emery Co., San Rafael Reef area, 5300', 22 May, 2003 (1 ♁, 2 &amp;female;), 15 May, 2007 (4 ♁, 4 &amp;female;); Garfield Co., Star Springs, 36 mi S Hanksville, 6300', 27 Aug. 1971, D. F. Hardwick (2 &amp;female;); Juab Co., Callao, 29 July 1941, G. F. Knowlton &amp; F. C. Harmston (1 ♁); Juab Co., Eureka, 16 July–21 Aug. 1911, Tom Spalding (4 ♁, 3 &amp;female;). Paratypes deposited in CNC, USNM, and the personal collection of C. D. Ferris. <b>Other material examined and distribution</b> (Fig. 31). 184 specimens not includ- ed in type series were examined (28 dissections). <b>Arizona.</b> Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai cos.; Chiricahua, Huachuca, Hualupai, Santa Catalina, and White Mts. <b>California.</b> San Bernardino and Riverside cos.; Ivapah Mts. <b>Montana.</b> Sweet Grass Co. <b>Nevada.</b> Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, and Nye cos. <b>New Mexico.</b> Chaves, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, and Otero cos. <b>Oregon.</b> Baker Co. Texas: Culberson, Jeff Davis cos., Davis Mts. <b>Wyoming.</b> Weston Co.; Black Hills. <b>Mexico.</b> Baja California Norte 29° 46' N 114° 46' W. April–August in dry forest clearings, desert canyons, riparian and reef areas from 2900–7600' (885-2320 m). Apparently two generations in some areas (e.g., Grant Co., New Mexico). <b>Note.</b> Material of this species was distributed by E. L. Todd under the unpublished manuscript name “ <i>Acontia deserticola</i>.” <b>Etymology.</b> We take pleasure in naming this species in honor of the late E. L. Todd. <b>Diagnosis.</b> DFW basal area nearly white in both sexes; dark brown distal area nearly uniformly brown with only a few scales of different color; orbicular spot nearly obsolete; reniform spot less prominent than in <i>A</i>. <i>areli</i> and <i>A</i>. <i>geminocula</i>, and without dark “pupil.” <b>Description. Adult male: Head –</b> dark brown with a few whitish scales at antennal base; antenna filiform; palpus porrect, slightly longer than eye width, white basally, brown at tip. <b>Thorax –</b> prothoracic collar and thorax. <i>Foreleg</i>: brown, white-ringed in middle of tibia and at joints. <i>Middle leg</i>: femur and tibia white with brown rings at joints; tarsi brown, white ringed at joints. <i>Hindleg</i>: femur white; tibia white with light brown shading at tibial-tarsal joint; first tarsal segment white shading to brown at joint with second segment; remaining tarsi brown, white-ringed at joints. <i>Wings</i>: male (FWL 10-13 mm). DFW: ground color white over basal half with two small very pale brown patches on costa and a few scattered pale brownish scales basad; outer half of wing brown with a few scattered small white and dark scale patches; prominent, ap- proximately square, white preapical patch on costa; orbicular spot virtually obsolete, defined only by a few dark scales; reniform spot circular, filled with darker scales than background; terminal line a series of dark dashes; fringe basally brown, white at tips. DHW: luminous white, nearly hyaline, with pale brown marginal band; fringe white. <b>Female</b> (FWL 10-12 mm) <b>–</b> similar to male but DFW basal area with increased darker overscaling; DHW pale tan with pale brown marginal band. <b>Male genitalia</b> (Fig. 19) <b>–</b> <i>uncus</i>: long, slender, slightly swollen at mid-length, tapers to pointed tip. <i>Valves</i>: asymmetrical; right valve broad, tapering slightly toward apex with slight preapical concavity on dorsal margin; apex rounded with slight dorsal point; corona present but with fewer setae than in other species; clasper on ventral margin with triangular process near middle of dorsal margin, apex spine-like, extending around posteroventral angle of valve; right sacculus with apically spatulate extension; left valve similar but sacculus smaller and without posteror extension; clasper with broad, triangular, dorsal process near base. <i>Aedeagus</i>: similar to that of <i>A</i>. <i>areli</i>; everted vesica membrane plum-shaped with large unarmed thumb-like dorsal diverticulum subbasally; two large, heavily sclerotized horn-like cornuti, one at base of diverticulum and one near middle of outer margin of vesica; apical part of vesica with two large fields of chitinized projections forming rasp-like patches with band of stouter spines along middle of each patch. <b>Female genitalia</b> (Fig. 25) <b>–</b> ostium bursae funnel-like, tapering only slightly to junction with ductus bursae; ductus bursae tubular, lightly sclerotized, length about 0.6 × length of ovoid corpus bursae; spine-filled posterior pouch of corpus bursae to left of ductus. <b>Biology.</b> Unknown. Adults April–August in dry forest clearings, desert canyons, riparian and reef areas from 2900-7600' (885-2320 m). Apparently two generations in some areas (e.g., Grant Co., New Mexico).
description: Published as part of <i>Ferris, Clifford &amp; Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, Review of the Acontia areli group with descriptions of three new species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Acontiinae), pp. 27-46 in ZooKeys 9 (9)</i> on pages 40-42, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.9.180, http://zenodo.org/record/576450