Euxoa muldersi Lafontaine &amp; Hensel 2010, sp. n.
Creators: name: Lafontaine, Donald
name: Troubridge, James
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Euxoa
Euxoa muldersi

description: <i>Euxoa muldersi</i> Lafontaine &amp; Hensel, sp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 13A91C23-B4CC-426C-B961-9E0066029FD8 Figs 1–4, 19, 24 <b>Type material.</b> <b>Holotype</b> ♁: <b>Canada, Nunavut:</b> Austin Island, Maguse Point, 29 km N of Arviat, 12 July 1996, H. Hensel &amp; R. Mulders [CNC]. Paratypes 38♁, 13&amp;female;: same locality as for holotype; 26 July 1992, R. Mulders; 12, 16 July 1996, H. Hensel &amp; R. Mulders; 18 July 1996, H. Hensel; 7, 8 July 1998, H. Hensel; 17 July 2000, H. Hensel; vicinity of Arviat, 11, 12 July 1998, H. Hensel; 18–27 July 2000, H. Hensel; 16–22 July 2002, H. Hensel. BMNH, CNC, HHC, JTTC, USNM, and personal collection Hartmut Rietz, Hamburg, Germany. <b>Other material examined. Canada.</b> Canada, Northwest Territories, Ford Lake, 63°11'N 107°19 W, 25 June 1966, G. E. Shewell (2♁). <b>Etymology.</b> The species is named for Robert Mulders, a biologist at Arviat who collected the first specimen and brought it to the attention of Henry Hensel. <b>Diagnosis.</b> In the key to species of the <i>Euxoa westermanni</i> species-group in Lafontaine (1987) <i>E</i>. <i>muldersi</i> keys out to <i>Euxoa churchillensis</i> McDunnough. It differs from <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i> (Figs 5–7, 20, 25) in larger size (forewing length 13–15 mm versus 10–13 mm in <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i>), more blurry forewing pattern usually with brown shading, basally paler more mottled hindwing, reduced, vestigial frontal tubercle, shorter, stouter saccular extension and straight sub-basal diverticulum (curved in <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i>) in the male genitalia (compare Figs 19 and 20). In females, the anal papillae are broad and more rounded compared to bullet-shaped in <i>E. churchillensis</i>. <b>Description. Adult:</b> <i>Head</i> <b>–</b> Frontal tubercle vertically elongated but small, low, only slightly raised from frons; male antenna slightly biserrate, about 1.3 × as wide as shaft; eye reduced, ellipsoid, with sparse surface hair; vestiture of head and thorax a highly variable mixture of buff, brown, and black hair-like and strap-like scales, usually covering frontal tubercle. <i>Thorax <i>–</i> Legs</i> : tibia with spiniform setae typical for <i>Euxoa</i>. <i>Wings</i> (both sexes); most common form (Fig. 1 [80% of specimens]) ground color a variable mixture of pale-gray, brown, and black scales, usually with darker colors predominating in medial area; basal dash and antemedial and postmedial lines black but diffuse and appearing blurry; terminal area dark gray to black with diffused streaks extending into subterminal area; reniform and orbicular pale gray, sometimes with <b>Figures Ι–Ι8.</b> <i>Euxoa</i> adults. <b>Ι–4</b> <i>E</i>. <i>muldersi</i>, <b>Ι</b> ♁ holotype <b>2</b> ♁ paratype, Maguse Point, Austin Island, 29 km N of Arviat, Nunavut, Canada <b>3</b> &amp;female; <b>4</b> &amp;female; paratypes, Maguse Point, Austin Island, 29 km N of Arviat, Nunavut, Canada; <b>5–7</b> <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i>, <b>5</b> ♁ <b>6</b> &amp;female; <b>7</b> &amp;female;, Arviat, Nunavut, Canada; <b>8,‹</b> <i>E</i>. <i>apopsis</i>, <b>8</b> &amp;female; paratype, Mt. McLean, British Columbia, Canada <b>9</b> ♁ holotype, Gott Peak, 7100’, British Columbia, Canada; <b>Ι0–Ι2</b> ♁ <i>E</i>. <i>macleani</i>, Gott Peak, 7100’, British Columbia, Canada; <b>Ι3–Ι8</b> <i>E</i>. <i>chimoensis</i>, <b>Ι 3</b> &amp;female;, Schefferville, Labrador, Canada <b>Ι 4</b> &amp;female;, Post-de-la-Baleine, Quebec, Canada <b>Ι5</b> ♁, L’Anse au Loup, Labrador, Canada <b>Ι6</b> ♁ <b>Ι 7</b> &amp;female; <b>Ι8</b> ♁, Northern Study Centre, 24 km E Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. darker outline and darker central spot; paler form (Fig. 2 [10% of specimens]) with less brown shading and less mottling of ground color; dark shading in reniform spot filling most of spot; pale form (Figs 3, 4 [10% of specimens]) mainly pale gray with blurry dark-gray transverse lines and reniform spot. Hindwing dirty white mottled with fuscous shading, especially on outer half of wing, postmedial line, and discal spot; fringe white. <i>Male genitalia</i> <b>–</b> Similar to those of <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i> in most details except saccular extension shorter and slightly stouter (0.54–0.58 × as long as ampulla of clasper (harpe) versus 0.60–0.68 × as long in <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i>); subbasal diverticulum in vesica straight (curved in <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i>). <i>Female genitalia</i> <b>–</b> Similar to those of <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i> but anal papillae broad and more rounded in lateral view (bullet shaped in <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i>). <b>Distribution and biology.</b> <i>Euxoa muldersi</i> is known only from north central Canada with all specimens except two from the vicinity of Arviat, Nunavut. The species must use a similar pheromone to <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i> because H. Hensel observed males of <i>E</i>. <i>churchillensis</i> being attracted to calling <i>E</i>. <i>muldersi</i> females, although no attempts at mating were observed. It is restricted to open dunes where it flies close to the sand. The reduced frontal tubercle is typical of <i>Euxoa</i> species that inhabit dunes.
description: Published as part of <i>Lafontaine, Donald &amp; Troubridge, James, 2010, Two new species of the Euxoa westermanni species-group from Canada (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae), pp. 255-262 in ZooKeys 39 (39)</i> on pages 257-259, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.39.436, http://zenodo.org/record/576644
description: {"references": ["Lafontaine JD (1987) Noctuoidea Noctuidae (part) Noctuinae (part - Euxoa). In: Dominick RB et al. (Eds) Th e Moths of America north of Mexico, fasc. 27.2. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, DC, 237 pp."]}