Acontia geminocula Ferris &amp; Lafontaine 2009, sp. n.
Creators: name: Ferris, Clifford
name: Lafontaine, Donald
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Acontia
Acontia geminocula

description: <i>Acontia geminocula</i> Ferris &amp; Lafontaine, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: CCB85133-9645-4C5E-B32D-2A66F0EA66AE Figs. 1, 11-13, 20, 26, 32 <b>Type material.</b> <b>Holotype</b> ♁. Arizona, Yavapai Co., Granite Dells, 4 mi N Prescott, 2 Sept., 1970, L. M. Martin. [CNC, Ottawa, Canada]. <b>Paratypes</b> 110 ♁, 133 &amp;female; (13 dissections): <b>Arizona.</b> Same locality and collector as for holotype, 9 Aug.–23 Sept. 1970 (3 ♁); Cochise Co., Chiricahua Mts., Cave Creek Canyon, 5400', 1 July–4 Sept. 1966, J. G. Franclemont (12 ♁, 7 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Chiricahua Mts., Cave Creek Canyon, 4880', 7 July–25 Aug. 1967, J. G. Franclemont (7 ♁, 11 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Garden Canyon, 4 Aug. 1966, R. F. Sternitsky (1 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Huachuca Mts., Miller Canyon, 5000', 29 June–17 Aug., 1974, J.G. Franclemont (20 ♁, 32 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Huachuca Mts., Ramsey Canyon, 23 Sept. &amp; 4 Oct., 1967, R. F. Sternitsky (4 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Paradise, Barnes Coll. (6 ♁, 1 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Portal, 5 mi SW, 5400', 2 Oct., 1969, D. F. Hardwick (1 ♁); Cochise Co., Sierra Vista, 12 Sept. 1967, R. F. Sternitsky (2 &amp;female;); Cochise Co., Huachuca Mts., Ash Canyon, 5170' (1575 m), 3 July, 2005, C. D. Ferris (1 ♁, 1 &amp;female;). Pima Co., Baboquivari Mts., 5000', 1-7 July 1923 &amp; 5700', 15-30 July 1923 &amp; 1-15 Sept. 1923, O. C. Poling (2 ♁, 2 &amp;female;); Pima Co., Baboquivari Mts., Brown Canyon, 4100', 20 Aug. 2006, T. Mustelin &amp; 20 Aug. 2008, C. Schmidt &amp; L. Crabo (1 ♁, 1 &amp;female;); Santa Cruz Co., Canelo, 20 Aug. 1966, R. F. Sternitsky (1 &amp;female;); Santa Cruz Co., Sycamore Canyon, 4400' (1340 m), 9 Aug., 1990, C. D. Ferris (1 ♁); Santa Cruz Co., Huachuca Mts., Copper Canyon, 6050', 9 July 2004, J. B. Walsh (2 ♁); Santa Cruz Co., Patagonia Mts., Harshaw, 4900', 27 June 2006, J. B. Walsh (1 ♁); Santa Cruz Co., Peña Blanca, 3950', 11,18,23 Aug., 1960, J. G. Franclemont (6 ♁, 1 &amp;female;); Santa Cruz Co., Santa Rita Mts., Madera Canyon, 4880', 4 July–6 Sept.,1959 &amp; 23 July–28 Aug., 1960, J.G. Franclemont (43 ♁, 67 &amp;female;) &amp; Madera Canyon, 5100', 10-26 July 1964, D. R. Davis (2 ♁); Santa Cruz Co., T 20S, R14 E. Sec. 2, Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Lodge, 4840', 5 July 1987, E. H. Metzler (1 ♁, 1 &amp;female;). Yavapai Co., Prescott, 2, 4 Sept., 1907, R. C. Kunze (2 ♁). <b>Texas</b>: Brewster Co., 6.5 mi south of Alpine, 30°17.4'N 103°35.6'W 9 Aug. 1991, Eric H. Metzler (1 ♁, 1&amp;female;). Paratypes deposited in CNC, CUIC, USNM, and the personal collections of C. D. Ferris, E. H. Metzler, and J. B. Walsh. <b>Other material examined and distribution</b> (Fig. 32). Mexico. Chihuahua, Mesa del Huracá n (1 ♁). <b>Note.</b> Material of this species was distributed by E. L. Todd under the unpublished manuscript name “ <i>Acontia vasticola</i>.” <b>Etymology.</b> The name of this species refers to the pair of eye-like spots on each forewing. <b>Diagnosis.</b> DFW basal area nearly white in male (like <i>A</i>. <i>toddi</i>), pale buff in female (like <i>A</i>. <i>areli</i>); distal area brown mottled with paler areas; reniform spot inwardly produced with dark distal patch. Differs from other four similar species in having a second reniform-like spot with dark outer patch below reniform. <b>Description. Adult male: Head –</b> dark brown; antenna filiform; palpus porrect slightly longer than eye width, white basally, outer half brown with vertical white band in middle. <b>Thorax –</b> prothoracic collar, thorax and abdomen white. <i>Foreleg</i>: coxa white with brown patch near middle; femur, tibia, and tarsus brown, white-ringed in middle of tibia and at joints. <i>Middle leg</i>: femur and tibia white with brown rings at femoraltibia joint and near apex of tibia; tarsus brown, white-ringed at joints. <i>Hindleg</i>: femur and tibia white with light brown shading at tibial-tarsal joint; first tarsal segment white shading to brown at joint with second segment; remaining tarsi brown, white-ringed at joints. <i>Wings</i>: male (FWL 10-11 mm). DFW: ground color creamy-white over basal half with pale brown patchy maculation, brown on remainder of wing with scattered paler areas producing a mottled aspect; prominent white skewed, trapezoidal preapical patch on costa; orbicular spot virtually obsolete, defined only by a few dark scales; reniform spot circular with iridescent blue scales filling distal half, below which a second reniform-like patch with brown and blue scales; a brown bar along inner margin below reniform spot; terminal line a series of dark dashes; fringe brown basally, white at tips, with brown patch below apex. DHW: luminous white, nearly hyaline with pale brown marginal band; fringe white. <b>Female</b> (FWL 10-12 mm) <b>–</b> similar to male, but DFW basal area buff; DHW pale tan, shading to pale brown on marginal band. <b>Male genitalia</b> (Fig. 20) <b>–</b> <i>uncus</i>: decurved, long, narrow, tapering to pointed tip. <i>Valve</i>: asymmetrical; right valve broad mesially, tapered toward apex, weakly pointed apically; corona present but weak; right valve with clasper on ventral margin; clasper only slightly tapered until 1/5 from apex, then abruptly tapered to finger-like process with rounded apex that bends dorsally toward middle of cucullus; saccular extension elongate, apical 2/3 densely spiny, like a mace; left valve similar to right valve, but sacculus and valve narrower and clasper more evenly tapered to apex; apex sharply pointed. <i>Aedeagus</i>: very similar to that of <i>A</i>. <i>toddi</i> except two rasp-like spine patches in everted vesica with more evenly sized sclerites and subbasal diverticulum without cornutus near base. <b>Female genitalia</b> (Fig. 26) <b>–</b> most similar to those of <i>A</i>. <i>toddi</i>, but ostium bursae much wider and spine-filled pouch at end of corpus bursae to right of ductus bursae in <i>A</i>. <i>geminocula</i>. <b>Biology.</b> Unknown. Adults July–September in riparian canyons from 4100-7400' (1250-2250 m).
description: Published as part of <i>Ferris, Clifford &amp; Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, Review of the Acontia areli group with descriptions of three new species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Acontiinae), pp. 27-46 in ZooKeys 9 (9)</i> on pages 42-44, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.9.180, http://zenodo.org/record/576450