Pseudohemihyalea ambigua Schmidt 2009, comb. n.
Creators: name: Schmidt, Christian
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Arctiidae
Pseudohemihyalea
Pseudohemihyalea ambigua

description: <i>Pseudohemihyalea ambigua</i> (Strecker), comb. n. Figs. 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 25 <i>Halisidota ambigua</i> Strecker, 1878: 274, pl. 9, fig. 7. <i>Seirarctia bolteri</i> H. Edwards, 1885: 121. <b>Type material.</b> <i>Halisidota ambigua</i>: Male holotype [FMNH], not examined. Type locality: “ Colorado [USA].” The male holotype is a badly damaged specimen with the abdomen, ventral thorax and head missing, although the wings are mostly intact, with the apex of the right forewing missing (J. Rawlins, pers. comm.). <i>Seirarctia bolteri</i>: Holotype [unknown], not examined. Type locality: “Las Vegas, N[ew]. Mex[ico]., 7000 feet [USA].” The sex of the holotype is not indicated in the original description; the type is not among the Edwards type material in the AMNH (B. Vincent, pers. comm.). Given the distinctive original description and absence of species similar to <i>P</i>. <i>ambigua</i> in the USA, <i>bolteri</i> is retained as a junior synonym of <i>ambigua</i>. <b>Diagnosis.</b> <i>Pseudohemihyalea ambigua</i> is very similar to <i>P</i>. <i>syracosia</i> externally, but the two can usually be separated without dissection by the slightly larger size, broader forewing striae (Figs. 1 and 2) and more northerly distribution (Fig. 25) of <i>P</i>. <i>ambigua</i>. Internally, both the saccular process (cf. Figs. 6 and 7) and uncus (cf. Figs. 11 and 12) are shorter and wider compared to <i>P</i>. <i>syracosia</i> (mean length to width ratio of uncus 1.9 in <i>P</i>. <i>ambigua</i>, 2.4 in <i>P</i>. <i>syracosia</i>). The coecum of the aedeagus is longer and more conical in <i>P</i>. <i>ambigua</i> (cf. Figs. 16 and 17). In females, the antevaginal plate is less flared laterally with a shallower distal indentation compared to <i>P</i>. <i>syracosia</i> (cf. Figs. 21 and 23). <b>Biology and distribution.</b> Collection dates indicate the peak flight is in July, with extreme dates ranging from mid June to early August, presumably representing a single annual brood. <i>Pseudohemihyalea ambigua</i> is the most widespread of the <i>ambigua</i> - group, occurring from southern Wyoming (Ferguson et al. 2000) to Durango, Mexico (Fig. 25). Ferguson et al. (2000) show <i>P</i>. <i>ambigua</i> as occurring in Tamaulipas, Mexico, but no specimens from Tamaulipas could be located and their record may refer to another species, possibly <i>P</i>. <i>potosi</i>.
description: Published as part of <i>Schmidt, Christian, 2009, Revision of the " Aemilia " ambigua (Strecker) species-group (Noctuidae, Arctiinae), pp. 63-78 in ZooKeys 9 (9)</i> on page 70, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.9.149, http://zenodo.org/record/576452
description: {"references": ["Strecker H (1878) Descriptions of some species and varieties of North American Heteroceres, mostly new. Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences 2: 270 - 275.", "Edwards H (1885) Apparently new species of N. American Heterocera. Papilio 4: 121 - 122.", "Ferguson DC, Opler PA, Smith MJ (2000) Moths of Western North America. 3. Distribution of Arctiidae of Western North America. Part 1. Text, maps, and references. C. P. Gillette Arthropod Biodiversity Museum, Ft. Collins, CO. 171 pp."]}