Atteva aurea
Creators: name: Wilson, John
name: Landry, Jean-François
name: Janzen, Daniel
name: Hallwachs, Winnie
name: Nazari, Vazrick
name: Hajibabaei, Mehrdad
name: Hebert, Paul
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Yponomeutidae
Atteva
Atteva aurea

description: <i>Atteva aurea</i> (Fitch) <i>Deiopeia aurea</i> Fitch, 1857: 486. Type locality: Marion Co., Florida, USA, by neotype designated below. <i>Poeciloptera compta</i> Clemens, 1861: 526. Type locality: Texas, USA. Type not located, possibly lost. Synonymized by Berg, 1880: 100 (under <i>punctella</i>). <i>Oeta aurera</i> Stretch, 1873: 240. Misspelling. <i>Oeta compta</i> var. <i>floridana</i> Neumoegen, 1891: 123. Type locality: Upper Indian River, Florida, USA (USNM) [Holotype male examined (Figure 6A); genitalia on slide USNM 15942 prepared by JFL; attempt to recover DNA from abdomen failed]. Synonymized by Heppner and Duckworth, 1983: 26 (under <i>punctella</i>). Re-instat- ed as a valid species by Becker (2009). See Remarks below. <i>Atteva edithella</i> Busck, 1908: 85. Type locality: Maverick County, Texas, USA (J.D. Mitchell collector) (USNM type # 11362) [Holotype female examined (Figure 4A); genitalia on slide USNM 15940 prepared by JFL;DNA recovered from abdomen]. Synonymized by Heppner and Duckworth, 1983: 26 (under <i>punctella</i>). <i>Atteva exquisita</i> Busck, 1912: 86. Type locality: Mobano, Coahuila, MEXICO (R. Muller collector, August) (USNM type # 14528) [Holotype male examined (Figure 4B); genitalia on slide USNM 92745 prepared in 1949]. Synonymized by Heppner and Duckworth, 1983: 26 (under <i>punctella</i>). <i>Atteva ergatica</i> Walsingham, 1914: 328. Type locality: Rio Sarstoon, BELIZE (Blancaneaux collector) (BMNH) [Holotype female examined (Figure 4C); genitalia on slide BMNH-Microlep 31548 prepared by JFL; DNA recovered from abdomen]. Synonymized with <i>pustulella</i> by Becker (2009). The type locality is ecotone between dry forest and rain forest, the kind of habitat occupied by ACG <i>A. aurea</i> where it overlaps with the distribution of <i>A. pustulella</i>. <i>Atteva microsticta</i> Walsingham, 1914: 330.Type locality:Tehuacan, Puebla, MEXICO (R Muller collector, March 1907) (USNM) [Holotype female examined (Figure 4D); genitalia on slide USNM 92765 prepared in 1940; barcoding attempted using one leg but failed. Th e species name is spelled “microstigma” on the black-bordered type label in Walsingham’s handwriting.] Synonymized with <i>pustulella</i> by Becker (2009). <b>Forewings.</b> The forewings are predominantly orange, with four bands of yellow spots outlined in black. Compared with <i>pustulella</i> the orange is more extended and the black outlines surrounding the white spots are thinner (Figure 5A). Th ere is a marked amount of variation in the number and size of pale spots but in spite of this variation <i>aurea</i> is clearly separated from <i>pustulella</i> (Figures 4–6). See Remarks below. <b>Habitat and food plants.</b> Caterpillars are commonly encountered in ACG dry forest feeding on <i>Simarouba glauca</i> (100+ records) and in the ecotone between dry forest and rain forest, found feeding on both <i>S. glauca</i> and <i>S. amara</i>. The <i>aurea</i> population has extended at least 20 kilometers into ACG rain forest in anthropogenic artificially more xeric conditions, feeding on <i>S. amara</i> as well. It is found to the north of Costa Rica in dry forest to semi-desert ecosystems, and north to southeastern Canada, feeding on <i>Ailanthus altissima</i>. <b>Distribution.</b> In North America, distributed wherever its non-native host occurs but vagrant adults are regularly found at its northern limit in eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec beyond the host range. <b>Remarks.</b> There is significant variation in forewing coloration as attested by several synonyms. More pronounced variants with reduced forewing black linings (<i>edithella</i>, <i>exquisita</i>) were described from semi-arid regions of northern Mexico and from Texas. Among barcoded specimens is an aberrant one (CNCLEP00027027 from Maryland) in which the forewing black reticulation failed to develop except asymmetrically in one small area of the right forewing (Figure 5D). That specimen was collected together with many others which displayed the normal coloration (Figure 5 B–C). Th ere is evidence that colour features including the relative extent of black reticulation and intensity of orange and pale yellow may be affected by temperature, with the black tending toward reduction at higher temperature (Powell et al. 1973). Specimens attributable to the <i>floridana</i> have barcodes unequivocally belonging to the <i>aurea</i> array of specimens (Figure 6 C–D). Attempts to barcode the old type specimen of <i>floridana</i> failed. We maintain <i>floridana</i> as a synonym of <i>aurea</i>, consistent with the traditional treatment of other authors (Heppner and Duckworth 1983; Heppner 1984, 2003; Covell 1984), but contrary to Becker (2009). Its status remains debatable, and it is possible for two species to have the same barcode. Barcode sharing is known to occur, albeit infrequently, among some close relatives in Lepidoptera (Hebert et al. 2009). The only evidence for considering <i>floridana</i> a separate species is the allegedly distinct forewing colour pattern with reduced spots (Figure 6), which is restricted to southern Florida and seems constant in sympatry with <i>A. aurea</i> (Becker 2009), whereas <i>A. aurea</i> varies considerably in forewing pattern over its wide geographic range. However, some specimens are nearly intermediate in pattern (Figure 6C) and would be questionably attributed to either <i>aurea</i> or form <i>floridana</i> from wing pattern alone. Larvae of the <i>floridana</i> form feed on <i>Simarouba glauca</i> and so overlap in host plant with <i>aurea</i>. It was reported that their larvae are distinct (Walsingham 1914: 329; Becker 2009), but this contention seems to be based on incorrectly interpreting a description of the <i>floridana</i> larva (Dyar 1897) in which the two species or forms were not actually compared. Th e alleged difference in larvae remains unverified. Specimens seemingly of the form <i>floridana</i> examined by us were all collected early in April and May and it would be interesting to see if the form is seasonally related. Specimens of <i>A. aurea</i> were collected at various dates from May to August in the North American part of its range. Although the type specimen of <i>A. aurea</i>, from Savannah, Georgia, appears to be lost, the description matches that of the ailanthus webworm moth and this is the oldest name applicable to North American populations of this <i>Atteva.</i> However, the original description is insuffi cient to determine the thickness of the forewing black lining and relative size of the orange and white spots, and there is no illustration of its type. Our attribution of that name is based on the original type locality which falls within the geographical range of the dry forest species and is far outside the range of the rain forest species. The neotype was selected based on availability of a full barcode without ambiguous bases in addition to matching the original description of the forewing pattern of <i>A. aurea</i>. While it would have been desirable to select a specimen from a locality “as nearly as practicable from the original type locality” (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.6), none from Georgia was available. Th e selected neotype is from northern Florida in a region with habitats similar to what occurs around Savannah, Georgia. <b>Neotype.</b> <i>Deiopeia aurea</i> Fitch, female, here designated, deposited in CNC, labelled: “[female symbol]” [printed]; “ FLORIDA: Marion Co. | Ocala National Forest | Forest Road 88 | 3.9 Miles SE of SR 316 | Longleaf Pine Sandhills | 7 DEC 2004 MV /BL | TERHUNE S. DICKEL | Database # | CNCLEP | 00031092” [white, printed]; “ Barcodes of Life Project | Leg(s) removed | DNA extracted” [blue, printed]; “ NEOTYPE | Deiopeia | aurea Fitch, 1857 / by J.-F. Landry 2010” [orange, partly printed, partly handwritten]. The specimen is spread and missing the left fore- and mid-legs which were removed for DNA extraction, but otherwise is in good condition (Figure 5A). Barcode sequence under GenBank accession number HM 034047.
description: Published as part of <i>Wilson, John, Landry, Jean-François, Janzen, Daniel, Hallwachs, Winnie, Nazari, Vazrick, Hajibabaei, Mehrdad &amp; Hebert, Paul, 2010, Identity of the ailanthus webworm moth (Lepidoptera, Yponomeutidae), a complex of two species: evidence from DNA barcoding, morphology and ecology, pp. 41-60 in ZooKeys 46 (46)</i> on pages 50-54, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.46.406, http://zenodo.org/record/576664
description: {"references": ["Fitch A (1857) Th ird report on the noxious and other insects of the state of New York. Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society 16: 315 - 490.", "Clemens B (1861) Contributions to American Lepidopterology 7. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 1860: 522 - 547.", "Berg C (1880) Observaciones sobre la familia Hyponomeutidae (continuacion). Anales de La Sociedad Cientifica Argentina 10: 99 - 109.", "Neumoegen B (1891) New Rhopalocera and Heterocera. Th e Canadian Entomologist 23: 122 - 126.", "Heppner JB, Duckworth WD (1983) Yponomeutidae. In: Hodges RW, Dominick T, Davis DR, Ferguson DC, Franclemont JG, Munroe EG, Powell JA (Eds) Check list of the Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico. Classey, London, 26 - 27.", "Becker VO (2009) A review of the New World Atteva Walker moths (Yponomeutidae, Attevinae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 53: 349 - 355.", "Busck A (1908) Descriptions of North American Tineina. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 9: 85 - 95.", "Busck A (1912) New Microlepidoptera from Mexico. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 14: 83 - 87.", "Walsingham, Lord [T. de Gray] (1914) Tineina, Pterophorina, Orneodina, Pyralidina and Hepialina (part). Biologia centrali-americana. Insecta. Lepidoptera-Heterocera. Vol. IV. 482 pp.", "Powell JA, Comstock JA, Harbison CF (1973) Biology, geographical distribution, and status of Atteva exquisita (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae). Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 17: 175 - 186.", "Heppner JB (1984) Yponomeutidae. In: Heppner JB (Ed) Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera, Checklist Part I. W. Junk, Th e Hague, 55 - 56.", "Heppner JB (2003) Lepidoptera of Florida, part 1, Introduction and catalog. Arthropods of Florida and neighboring land areas, vol. 17. Florida Department of Agriculture &amp; Consumer Services, Gainsville. 670 pp.", "Covell CV (1984) A field guide to the moths of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 496 pp.", "Hebert PDN, deWaard JR, Landry J-F (2009) DNA barcodes for 1 / 1000 of the animal kingdom. Biology Letters doi: 10.1098 / rsbl. 2009.0848.", "Dyar HG (1897) Oeta floridana Neumoegen. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 5: 48.", "ICZN [International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature] (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Fourth Edition. Th e International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London, 306 pp."]}