Psammopolia arietis Crabo &amp; Lafontaine 2009, comb. n.
Creators: name: Crabo, Lars
name: Lafontaine, Donald
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Psammopolia
Psammopolia arietis

description: <i>Psammopolia arietis</i> (Grote), comb. n. Figs 125, 126, 185, 240. Map 23 <i>Mamestra arietis</i> Grote, 1879: 207. <i>Lasionycta arietis</i>; McDunnough 1938: 71. <i>Anarta etacta</i> Smith, in Dyar 1900: 493, <b>syn. n.</b> <b>Type material.</b> <i>Mamestra arietis</i>: <b>syntype</b> ♁ [BMNH, examined]. Type locality: California. <i>Anarta etacta</i>: <b>holotype</b> &amp;female; [USNM, examined]. Type locality: Kukak Bay, [Aleutian Islands], Alaska. <b>Diagnosis.</b> <i>Psammopolia arietis</i> is a relatively small (expanse &lt;18 mm) gray species from the West Coast north of Mendocino, California. It occurs with <i>P</i>. <i>wyatti</i> and can be recognized from it by smaller size, darker gray color, and features of the spots. The orbicular spot of <i>P</i>. <i>arietis</i> is nearly round and it and the reniform spot are filled with pale gray peripheral and darker gray central scales. In <i>P</i>. <i>wyatti</i>, the orbicular spot is oval and it and the reniform spot are usually filled with whitish scales. The male genitalia of <i>P</i>. <i>arietis</i> resemble those of <i>P</i>. <i>wyatti</i> but are less massive with a less expanded ventral margin and smaller cucullus. Th e female corpus bursae of <i>P</i>. <i>arietis</i> is slightly shorter relative to the ductus bursae than that of <i>P</i>. <i>wyatti</i> (corpus/ductus = 1.75× for <i>P</i>. <i>arietis</i>; 1.85–2.0× for <i>P</i>. <i>wyatti</i>). <b>Distribution and biology.</b> <i>Psammopolia arietis</i> occurs on Pacific Coast sand beaches from Mendocino, California to southwestern Alaska. It is absent from the inland Strait of Georgia. Adults are nocturnal and come to light. Specimens are from late July to early September. Crumb (1956) and Godfrey (1972) described larvae from Newport, Oregon. It lives in sand dunes and feeds on <i>Lathyrus littoralis</i> (Nutt.) Endl. (Fabaceae), <i>Polygonum paronychia</i> Cham. &amp; Schltdl. (Polygonaceae), <i>Abronia latifolia</i> Eschsch. (Nyctaginaceae), and an unspecified grass (Poaceae). It has reduced prolegs with crochets.
description: Published as part of <i>Crabo, Lars &amp; Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, A Revision of Lasionycta Aurivillius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for North America and notes on Eurasian species, with descriptions of 17 new species, 6 new subspecies, a new genus, and two new species of Tricholita Grote, pp. 1-156 in ZooKeys 30 (30)</i> on pages 97-98, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.30.308, http://zenodo.org/record/576576
description: {"references": ["Grote AR (1879) On Lithophane and new Noctuidae. Bulletin of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories 5: 201 - 208.", "McDunnough J (1938) Check list of the Lepidoptera of Canada and the United States of America. Part 1 Macrolepidoptera. Memoirs of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 1: 1 - 275.", "Dyar HG (1900) Papers from the Harriman Alaska Expedition. XII. Entomological Results (6): Lepidoptera. Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences 2: 487 - 501.", "Crumb SE (1956) Th e larvae of the Phalaenidae. United States Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin 1135, Washington, D. C., 356 pp.", "Godfrey GL (1972) A review and reclassification of larvae of the subfamily Hadeninae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) of America north of Mexico. United States Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin, 1450: 1 - 265."]}