Tetracis pallidata Ferris, New Species
Creators: name: Ferris, Clifford D.
name: Schmidt, Christian
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Tetracis
Tetracis pallidata

description: Tetracis pallidata Ferris, New Species
(Figs. 11, 84–86, 100–101, 116–117, 132, 145)
Diagnosis. Similar to T. barnesii, but color paler ochreous and PM line brown, not pale yellow-ochre its entire length. DFW less maculated than in barnesii, and nearly immaculate in most specimens.
Description. Adults (Figs. 11, 84–86): FWL: 20–23 mm. Antenna nearly white dorsally, bipectinate in male, nearly filiform in female and densely setose ventrally. Palpi of medium width, porrect but terminal segments decurved, slightly longer than eye width, pale ochreous lightly flecked with brown scales. Head, thorax, and abdomen pale ochreous without any dark speckling, with abdomen slightly paler; thorax very setose. Legs pale ochreous with faint brown speckling at joints. Wings: Ground color ochreous and not irrorated with darker scales. FW apex falcate. AM and PM lines brown; both slightly convex outwardly; PM line narrow with only a slight change in curvature at M3, and without any noticeable distal pale shading; in a few specimens, PM line thickens slightly just below costal margin. In most specimens, MB not darker than remainder of wing; small brown discal spot. DHW nearly immaculate in most specimens and slightly paler than DFW; discal spot faint when present,; in some specimens a slight suggestion of median line at inner margin. Not paler ventrally and nearly immaculate with only a suggestion of the dorsal markings. Male genitalia (Figs. 100–101, 116–117): Uncus of medium width, slightly decurved, tapering to bluntly pointed tip. Dorso-caudal margin of gnathos concave, with a slender tapering upcurved spine at either side. Cylindrical furca (ca. 0.65x width of valve base) from middle of anellus tapers uniformly to bluntly-pointed apex. Valve broad with even margins, tapering to rounded apex with a small pointed triangular apical projection at the dorsal margin. Aedeagus with a ring of slender spinules at posterior end at base of vesica, with 2–3 long slender spines; everted vesica with small unsclerotized dome except for occasional pair of apparently deciduous setae on crown. Female genitalia (Fig. 132): A/P ca. 0.4. Slightly curved short lightly sclerotized tubular ductus bursae expands very slightly at junction with corpus bursae (ca. 0.2x length of corpus bursae). Corpus bursae ovoid with oval dentate signum located above middle. Corpus bursae with small pouch at junction with ductus bursae.
Type material. Holotype ♂: WASHINGTON, Kittitas Co., 8 mi. S. of Ellensburg, Umtanum Creek at Durr Rd.., 46.88° N, 120.57° W, 1940–2140’ (590–650m), 29 September, 2008, L. G. Crabo. [AMNH]. Paratypes: Same data as holotype, (21 ♂, 1 ♀); IDAHO, Elmore Co., 43° 17.53’N, 115° 19.32’W, 5300’ (1615m), 14–15.ix.1999, C. D. Ferris (1 ♂); Owyhee Co., Owyhee Uplands, 42° 42.39’N, 116° 28.15’W, 6200’ (1890m), 15–16.ix.1999, C. D. Ferris (5 ♂); Township 9 South, Range 2 West, SE Section 4, off Mud Lake Rd., 6000’ (1830m), 16–17.ix.1999, C. D. Ferris (1 ♂). CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Oliver, 1000’ (305m), 18.ix.1953, (1 ♂); 5 km SE of Okanagan Falls, 9–15.ix.1990, (6 ♂), 1–6.x.1990 (1 ♂) J. Troubridge, 11–17.x.1992, Troubridge & Gardiner (1 ♂); Kamloops, 11.ix.1951, A. Thomson (1 ♂); Hedley, reared by W. C. McGuffin, emerged 5.ix.1967 (1 ♂). Paratypes in CNC and CDF.
Material examined: 5 additional male specimens were examined from the Priest Lake area, Bonner Co., ID; 6 dissections were made.
Etymology. The adjectival name pallidata describes the pale aspect of this species.
Biology. Incompletely known. Habitats are mixed riparian forest (cottonwood with aspen and willows intermingled with choke cherry) in sage-shrub steppe, riparian in the ecotone between ponderosa pine and shrub steppe, and in Owyhee Co., Idaho, sage-shrub steppe with juniper and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt.). One specimen from Hedley, British Columbia was reared on Ribes sp. by W. C. McGuffin. Adults from mid–September into early October.
Distribution (Fig. 145): CANADA: BRITISH COLUMBIA. Hedley, Kamloops, Oliver, Okanagan Falls. UNITED STATES: IDAHO. Bonner, Elmore, Owyhee. WASHINGTON. Kittitas.
description: Published as part of Ferris, Clifford D. & Schmidt, Christian, 2010, Revision of the North American Genera Tetracis Guenée and Synonymization of Synaxis Hulst with Descriptions of Three New Species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae), pp. 1-36 in Zootaxa 2347 on pages 25-31, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.275566