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

description: Tetracis barnesii (Hulst)
(Figs. 59–62, 97, 112, 129, 142)
Gonodontis barnesii Hulst, 1896. A classification of the Geometrina of North America, with descriptions of new genera and species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 23(3):374. Holotype ♂, “Greenwood” [Glenwood] Springs, Colorado, October, 1892 (W. Barnes) [AMNH].
Synaxis barnesi McDunnough, 1938, page 173, entry 5194.
Diagnosis: The combination of the DFW dark orange-tan color, sinuous brown PM line smeared inwardly at the costal margin, and outwardly bordered for its length by a narrow pale yellow-ochre line separate Tetracis barnesii from its congeners.
Description: Adults (Figs. 59–62): FWL: 19–23 mm. Antenna nearly white dorsally, bipectinate in male, nearly filiform in female and densely setose ventrally. Palpi narrow, porrect but terminal segments decurved, slightly longer than eye width, mixed dark ochreous and brown scales, tips darker. Head, abdomen, legs ochreous, varying in hue across individuals. Ventral abdomen and legs paler; legs with scattered dark brown scales. Thorax dorsally and ventrally orange-ochreous and very setose. Wings: Base color ochreous orangebrown. FW apex weakly falcate. AM and PM lines brown; both slightly convex outwardly; sinuous PM line with only a moderate change in curvature at M3, pale yellow-ochre its entire length (occasionally with some narrow brown shading inwardly), with brown shading inwardly at costal margin. MB only slightly darker than remainder of wing; small dark brown discal spot. DHW paler centrally with darker shading along outer margin; median line poorly developed; discal spot small and faint. Ventrally paler with dorsal markings repeated lightly. Male genitalia (Figs. 97, 112): Uncus of medium width, slightly decurved, tapering to bluntly pointed tip. Dorso-caudal margin of gnathos concave and irregular, with a slender tapering upcurved spine at either side. Stubby furca (ca. 0.45x width of valve base) from middle of anellus tapers uniformly to sharplypointed apex. Valve broad with even margins, tapering to rounded apex with a narrow sharply-pointed apical projection at the dorsal margin. Aedeagus with a ring of slender spinules at posterior end at base of vesica including a group of long setae; everted vesica with small ovoid unsclerotized dome. Female genitalia (Fig. 129): A/P ca. 0.37. Curved very short sclerotized ductus bursae joins ovoid (sac-like) corpus bursae, with dentate signum located about 1/3 of corpus bursae length below junction. Corpus bursae with lightly sclerotized pouch above signum at junction with ductus bursae. Ductus seminalis robust.
Material examined: 36 specimens with 5 dissections.
Biology: Unknown. Habitats range from high-desert riparian canyons (Colorado, Utah) to dry coniferous forest (Oregon) from 5100–6250’ (1555–1905m). Adults in early September to late October.
Distribution (Fig. 142): Records by state/county are: UNITED STATES: ARIZONA. Gila, Yavapai. CALIFORNIA. Alpine, Colusa, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Shasta. COLORADO. Garfield, Mesa. MONTANA. Silver Bow. OREGON. Harney. UTAH. Emery.
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 21-22, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.275566