Denver Museum of Natural History

PROCEEDINGS OF THE Denver Museum of Natural History SERIES 3, NUMBER 3, OCTOBER 15, 1993 A REVIEW OF THE GENUS AGAPEMA (LEPIDOPTERA: SATURNIIDAE) RICHARD S. PEIGLER Department of Zoology, Denver Museum of Natural History 2001 Colorado Boulevard, Denver, Colorado 80205-5798 and ROY O. KENDALL 5598 Mt. McKinley Drive N.E. San Antonio, Texas 78251-3626 ABSTRACT — Agapema is a genus of saturniid moths ranging in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Agapema galbina, the type-species, was found to be misidentified by authors during the last 21 years. John Pope collected the original type specimens in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, not in western Texas. Agapema platensis, spec. nov., is described from the Edwards Plateau of Texas. Four taxa in far western Texas (dyari, nom. rev.), Arizona and western Mexico (anona, stat. rev.), Baja California (pelora, stat. nov.) and northeastern Mexico (dentifasciata, stat. nov.), previously considered to he subspecies of galbina, are elevated to full species rank based on larval and genitalic differences. The female and mature larva of dentifasciata and mature larvae of dyari and platensis are described for the first time. Figures and a key to the adult moths are pro- vided. The distribution of each species is plotted on a map. All known records for hostplants and parasitoids are tabulated, and phylogeny, habitats, and other field observa- tions are discussed. KEYWORDS: Agapema, Arizona, Colorado, Condalia, galbina, Mexico, moths, parasitoids, Rhamnaceae, Saturnia, Saturniidae, taxonomy, Texas PEIGLER AND KENDALL The genus Agapema is a holophyletic group of TAMU— Texas A&M University, College small to medium-sized nocturnal saturniid moths that Station range in southwestern North America south to the region SDNHM— San Diego Natural History Museum, of Mexico City. The genus was established by Neumoegen San Diego and Dyar (1894); the type-species is Saturnia galbina by KU — Snow Entomological Museum, Uni- monotypy. The most recent revisionary treatments of the versity of Kansas, Lawrence genus were by Ferguson (1972) and Lemaire (1978). The USNM— United States National Museum of currently accepted classification is: A. galbina galbina Natural History, Smithsonian Insti- (Clemens) from western Texas and southern New tution, Washington, D.C. Mexico, galbina anona (Ottolengui) from southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico, galbina dentifasciata Lemaire from eastern Mexico, galbina pelora Rindge from TAXONOMY Baja California, solita Ferguson from the lower Rio Earlier authors, up to and including Collins and Grande Valley of Texas, and homogena Dyar from north- Weast (1961), were correct in considering that the type- ern Colorado to Mexico City. species of Agapema was the one that formerly occurred The taxonomy has been confused, and the imma- commonly in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas ture stages of several of the taxa have not been reported. (Cameron and Hidalgo Counties). Ferguson (1972: 191) This paper provides new information on hostplants, local- wrote: "It has long been accepted that the name galbina ity records, habitats, parasitoids, immature stages, phy- applied to the form found in the lower Rio Grande Valley, logeny, and taxonomy. In contrast to a generic revision, but when I searched for the evidence upon which this which should provide complete synonymies, redescrip- conclusion was based I could find none." He continued tions of all taxa, and a comprehensive bibliography, this with a discussion of an 1854 survey expedition in western paper is a review mainly intended to fill in some gaps Texas by John Pope, who collected the type material in where information has been lacking in earlier publica- Texas, concluding that Pope was never in the lower Rio tions, and to correct errors of earlier authors. Recently, Grande Valley (see Goetzmann 1959). Ferguson then much new material has become available to us on the considered the type-species to be in western Texas, where taxon that inhabits a region of southwestern Texas, partic- he knew Pope had travelled, and redescribed the lower ularly the western portion of the Edwards Plateau. This Rio Grande species as new, i.e..solita. In a subsequent revi- species is described below as new. We have concluded sion of the American representatives of the subfamily that the type-species of the genus has been misidentified Saturniinae, Lemaire (1978) concurred with the taxo- by authors for the past 21 years, and nomenclatural nomic treatment of Agapema by Ferguson. With additional changes are now necessary. We have also concluded that literature we verified that Pope spent time in the south- the available name dyari Cockerell nom. rev. is applicable ern tip of Texas. On a visit to the Field Museum of to the population of far western Texas and southern Natural History in 1990 Peigler found a pair of syntype New Mexico. specimens (Figs. 1–2) in the collection of Ferdinand The following abbreviations are used in the text Heinrich Herman Strecker (1836-1901), revealing that for the collections from which material is cited in this the Agapema found in that region was what Pope had col- study, notably under the subsections for each species enti- lected. Labels in Strecker's handwriting (Figs. 3–4) read: tled "Material Examined. " Label #1: "Capt. Pope, Coll. J. G. Morris" Label #2: "Saturnia Galbina Clem. These two examples AMNH— American Museum of Natural History, are from old coll. of Dr. J. G. Morris, who got them from a New York City Capt. Pope. They are the originals of figs. 4, 5 pt. 12. Lep. CMNH— Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Rho. Het. [continued on reverse side:] they are doubtless Pittsburgh the examples from which Clem. drew his description. " CNC— Canadian National Collection, Bio- We believe these to be true syntypes. Hardwick systematics Research Centre, Ottawa (1978) discussed in detail that Strecker did not have a CSU— Colorado State University, Fort Collins clear type concept and some of the specimens he labelled DMNII— Denver Museum of Natural History, as types are not true type specimens. However, that prob- Denver lem apparently pertains more to names that Strecker pro- FMNH— Field Museum of Natural History, posed himself than to names proposed by other authors Chicago or to old historical specimens that he acquired and proba- LACM— Los Angeles County Museum of bly valued. Gall and Hawks (1990) also discussed type Natural History, Los Angeles material of Strecker, accepting most specimens as valid ROK— Roy O. and Conway A. Kendall and pointing to the accuracy of the illustrations in his Lepidoptera Collection serial publication (Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres, and Denver Museum of Natural History Series 3, No. 3, p. 2, October 15, 1993 A REVIEW OF THE GENUS AGAPEMA (LEPID OPTERA: SATURNIIDAE) Heteroceres), part 12 of which we cite, as it contains the One additional point that convinces us that the text and figures of galbina (Strecker 1875). John Rawlins lower Rio Grande Valley insect is the true galbina is (pers. comm.), who has intensively studied the Strecker Clemens' (1860) original description. Although most of collection, points out that many more type specimens that 149-word description could refer to most of the exist in that collection that are validly labelled than are species in the genus, the following characters cited by him invalidly labelled. pertain only to the lower Rio Grande species, if, as we To establish if Capt. John Pope visited the believe, the description refers to a male. "Antennae Brownsville area of Texas, it was necessary to consult vari- luteous. Forewings yellowish brown. The marginal por- ous historical documents. For military personnel today, it tion of the wing is whitish, and is tinged on the terminal would only be necessary to consult the military service edge with pale yellowish brown. " All of these characters record for the individual, but service records were not are darker in the other species. kept for Regular Army officers who served before 1863. We therefore cite Agapema solita Ferguson as a new John Pope served in the War with Mexico in 1846-1848 synonym of Agapema galbina (Clemens). We designate the (Cullum 1891: 126). male in the Strecker collection as lectotype of Saturnia gal- Pope was assigned to General Zachary Taylor ' s bina Clemens, and the associated female as paralectotype command. In March 1846 construction of Fort Brown (Figs. 1-2). We agree with Ferguson (1972) and Lemaire began. Pope participated in engagements at Buena Vista (1978) that the true galbina (which they called solita) is a dis- and Monterrey in Mexico (Cullum 1891). After the peace tinct species from the others that occur to the west and treaty with Mexico was signed 2 February 1848, Pope south. This leaves the species in the region of far western probably returned to Fort Brown to work on the Mexican Texas and southern New Mexico in need of a name, for Boundary Survey. This is evidenced by Scudder (1872: which the name dyari is available. Recent authors (Ferguson 68), who described the butterflies Phocides texana and P. 1972, Lemaire 1978) have agreed that all of the taxa that fly sanguinea (Hesperiidae), stating that they had been taken in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico are conspecific, by "Capt. Pope Mexican Boundary Survey from Texas." except for the much larger homogena Dyar. We believe that Although now considered synonyms of P. urania these so-called subspecies are best considered full species (Westwood) and P. palemon lilea (Cramer), respectively, based on the genitalic and particularly larval differences neither has ever been taken in Texas north of Cameron described in this paper. Taxa such as anona and dyari have and Hidalgo Counties. Pope's next assignment, surveying distributions extending hundreds of kilometers, but we a railroad route across the 32 nd Parallel in far western found no geographical variation among populations.

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