Drasteria convergens Mustelin, NEW SPECIES
Creators: name: Mustelin, Tomas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Drasteria
Drasteria convergens

description: Drasteria convergens Mustelin, NEW SPECIES
Figs. 1, 24 a, 24b, and 64
Type material. Holotype: Male, Pipes Canyon in San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County, California, 15 June 1982, G. Bruyea. Paratypes: 10 males, 15 females. San Bernardino County: Onyx Peak, San Bernardino Mountains, 25 June 1967, F. T. Thorne (1 female); Onyx Summit, San Bernardino Mountains, 2800 m, N34°11.50’, W116°43.06’, 1 July 2003 (2 females), 14 July 2004 (3 males), T. & S. Mustelin; Cienega Seca, Grace Valley Ranch, 2500 m, 27 June 1998, T. E. Dimock (2 males). Kern County: Mt Pinos: McGill Campground, 2230 m, 9 Aug 1996, T. E. Dimock (1 female); Mount Pinos, 2440 m, 28 June 1933, C. Henne (1 female); Mount Pinos, Los Padres National Forest, 2500 m, 15 July 1961 (2 females), 2680 m, 26 June 1962, C. Henne (2 males, 1 female); Mount Pinos, 2220 m, 31 July 1998, K. Richers (1 female). Ventura County: Alamo Mountain, Dutchman Campsite, 2000 m, 29 June 2000, T. E. Dimock (1 male, 1 female); Mt. Pinos, Mt. Pinos Campground, 2380 m, 17 August 1991, B. Rasmussen & T. E. Dimock (1 female). Inyo County: Big Pine Creek at Sage Flat Campground, 2220 m, 27 July 1998, T. E. Dimock (1 male, 1 female). Tulare County: Smokey Valley, XYZ creek, 1800–1900 m, 17 June 1943 (1 female), 18–20 June 1945 (1 male, 2 females). Holotype and genitalic slide #202/TM deposited in SDNHM, paratypes in SDNHM, LACM, and the private collections of T. Dimock, R. Leuschner, K. Richers, and the author.
Etymology. The name convergens refers to the close and converging antemedial and mid­median lines.
Diagnosis. This new species is superficially similar to both D. divergens (Behr, 1870) and D. pulchra (Barnes & McDunnough, 1918), but its forewing is more brownish than in D. divergens and the hindwing is bright yellow orange, not yellow as in D. divergens, but not as deep red as in D. pulchra. It differs from D. pulchra in the shape of the antemedial line (Fig. 1), which is less curved than in D. pulchra and runs much closer to the median line, which is relatively straight. The valve is less pointed than in D. divergens but not as round as in D. pulchra (Figs. 25 and 26). The everted vesica of this species is highly complex, as are the vesicas of related species of Drasteria (Fig. 25 b and 26b). They tend to have numerous fingerlike processes, which are best viewed before mounting when the vesica can be inspected as a three­dimensional structure.
Description. Antenna filiform in both sexes; eyes naked; palps and frons covered in pale brown hairs; patagium, tegula, and thorax covered in pale brown scales, patagium with a black longitudinal stripe; thorax covered in pale brown hairlike scales, venter paler than dorsum; legs concolorous with thorax; abdomen concolorous with thorax, venter paler than dorsum; forewing ground color pale brown; basal area brown; median field inner half cream colored, outer half pale brown; orbicular spot absent; reniform spot vaguely outlined in black, followed by large pale postreniform spot outlined in black, filled with white and pale brown, veins dark brown, lateral outline deeply serrate; claviform spot absent; basal line black double, thin; antemedial line black, double, enclosed area brown, two large bulges outward; median line consist of three closely spaced lines, two inner ones tan, outer one black that joins postmedial line under reniform spot; postmedial line black, outlining postreniform spot, deeply incurved under reniform spot; subterminal line cream colored with inward pointing black chevrons, outlined in tan; area beyond pale gray, darkening laterally; terminal line thin, gray; fringe pale tan with gray line; ventral side pale yellow; reniform spot dark, with dark shadow towards anal corner; subterminal line dark; terminal line dark; fringe dark along veins; hindwing bright yellow orange; discal spot dark brown to black; postmedial band dark brown to black, does not touch discal spot; terminal line dark, thin near anal corner where it meets postmedial band; ventral side pale yellow; discal spot dark; postmedial and terminal lines as on dorsal side; fringe dark (This makes no sense, fringe has no veins). Male genitalia (Figs. 24 a and 24b): Valve length 4.4 mm, maximum width 1.3 mm, width at middle 0.5 mm; medial fingerlike process 0.8 mm long and slender, right side digitus 0.35 mm, left side 0.15 mm; aedeagus length 2.2 mm, width 0.6 mm, rounded; everted vesica length 2.3 mm, width 1.9 mm, round sack with numerous diverticula, some with small cornuti. Female genitalia (Fig. 64): Ovipositor lobes 1.4 mm long, drawn to narrow point, small setae pointed forward; posterior apophyses 2.45 mm long, anterior apophyses 1.6 mm long; ductus bursae 2.0 mm long, sclerotized, slowly narrows from 1.0 mm to 0.55 mm at junction of corpus bursae; corpus bursae 4.3 x 3.3 mm, oval, signa absent; appendix bursae arises from left posterior corpus bursae, spirals down and forward, completing 2/3 revolution.
Distribution and habitat. There are relatively few specimens of this species in collections. They were all collected in June–August in open dry coniferous forest habitats at high elevations in the Transverse Ranges and the southern Sierra Nevada.
description: Published as part of Mustelin, Tomas, 2006, Taxonomy of southern California Erebidae and Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) with descriptions of twenty one new species, pp. 1-47 in Zootaxa 1278 on pages 6-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.273509