Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Gnorimoschemini fauna of Alberta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Vazrick Nazari and Jean-François Landry Prepared for: The Alberta Lepidopterists’ Guild March 2012 © 2012 Government of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Authors’ address: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, C.E.F., 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6, Canada [email protected] jean-francois.landry@ agr.gc.ca Table of contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Materials and methods ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Results .............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Checklist of Alberta Gnorimoschemini ......................................................................................................... 10 Genus Gnorimoschema .................................................................................................................................. 12 Genus Tuta ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 Genus Scrobipalpula ...................................................................................................................................... 29 Genus Scrobipalpa ......................................................................................................................................... 32 Genus Scrobipalpopsis ................................................................................................................................... 36 Genus Ephysteris ........................................................................................................................................... 37 Genus Nevadopalpa ....................................................................................................................................... 38 Genus Caryocolum ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Genus Agonochaetia ...................................................................................................................................... 40 Features of the Alberta gnorimoschemine fauna ........................................................................................... 41 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................ 42 References ...................................................................................................................................................... 43 Plates .............................................................................................................................................................. 45 Appendix 1. Neighbour-joining tree of DNA barcodes ............................................................................... 105 Appendix 2. Material examined ................................................................................................................... 117 5 Introduction The tribe Gnorimoschemini Povolný, 1964 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) includes over 40 genera with nearly 900 described species worldwide. The majority of these (about 550) occur in the Palaearctic region (Po- volný 2002a), reflecting denser collecting and a longer taxonomic history. A large number of undescribed species is estimated to exist. The Nearctic fauna comprises 176 described species in 17 genera, among which the genus Gnorimoschema with 96 species is the most diverse (Lee et al. 2009) (Table 1). More than a third of the known Nearctic species occur in California. Gnorimoschemine diversity is highest in dry, scrubby, sandy, well-drained, and halophytic habitats. Many species occur in xeromontane, steppe or prairie zones. The evolutionary center of the tribe has been hypothesized to be the xeric habitats of South America such as the Patagonian cold steppes and xeromontane Andes (Powell & Povolný 2001). Many species are sand dune specialists. Inventories of coastal sand dunes in California recently revealed a great diversity of previously unknown Gnorimoschemini (Powell & Povolný 2001) and their study has been motivated by growing concern about conservation of these fragile habitats and their denizens. Gnorimoschemine species exhibit a diversity of larval habits and are mostly concealed feeders: free living in sand where they form silken tubes attached to leaves buried by the active sand; leaf mining (dominant among Palearctic species); borers or creating gall-like deformities in growing tips of foliage; causing soft or non-persistent stem galls in which the larvae feed; and/or causing hard, persistent stem galls (Powell & Po- volný 2001). Nearctic stem-gall making species are specialized on various Asteraceae (for example, the Gnori- moschema gallaesolidaginis complex; see Miller 2000). A few species of Gnorimoschemini are economically important and have become pests of cultivated Solanaceae. Many species of Gnorimoschemine, particularly dune-dwelling ones, have diurnal adults. Although at- tracted to light, many moths can be collected during daytime by sweeping the low vegetation in suitable habitats. Although past phylogenetic studies have been inconclusive (e.g. Povolný & Sustek 1988), the tribe is deemed to be monophyletic (Povolný 2002b). However, it is remarkably difficult to extract from the literature unique defining autapomorphies that would support this assertion. In his many publications (but mostly in 2002b which is a synopsis summarizing his lifelong work on the group), Povolný described at length trends in external and genitalia characters within the tribe, as well as the exceptions that diverge from the general pat- terns, but he did not explicitly articulate which character states are uniquely shared by all members of the tribe. The strong hook-like signum of the female genitalia and a lateral zone of microtrichia near the ostial area were suggested as the main uniting feature of the tribe (Huemer 1988; Huemer & Karsholt 2010). Male genitalia have a rather distinctive overall aspect with several genera possessing obvious synapomorphies, but we were unable to determine if these structures contain unifying character states for the tribe. Huemer and Karsholt (1999) men- tion the presence of a “small sclerotized apical arm [in the male genitalia], perpendicular to the main axis of the aedeagus [=phallus] that probably assists in everting the vesica during copulation” but we are not sure what structure this refers to. Pronounced individual variation in external coloration and appearance of the moths makes it extremely difficult to recognize species of Gnorimoschemini on external characters. In any population the forewing pattern can vary from unicolorous to a highly mottled, contrasting and colorful pattern. In the latter case, a triad of dark stigmata in the center of the forewing and a row of sub-marginal spots can often be observed, although the deviation of pattern and colour from these basic elements can be significant. From a morphological standpoint, taxon delineation and identification in the Gnorimoschemini at both generic and specific level depends almost entirely on detailed examination of the genitalia. For species whose biology is unknown (the majority of the species), the primary task of sorting species and correctly associating conspecific sexes presents a challenge. This problem is compounded by the fact that several species can be collected together as their flight period and microhabitat coincide. 6 The taxonomy of the group has been studied by few modern authors. The Czech entomologist Dalibor F. Povolný (1924-2004) was the dominant taxonomist studying the world Gnorimoschemini over the past 40 years and is responsible for describing nearly half of the known North American species (Table 1), either alone (Povolný 1967a, 1998) or in collaboration with J.A. Powell (Powell and Povolný 2001), with particular focus on the Californian fauna. Povolný’s works are very difficult to use due to the uneven quality of the descriptions, lack of identification keys, and lack of clear diagnoses. The publication of Povolný’s new species in hard-to-access or unusual journals (for insect taxonomy) further hampers dissemination of the knowledge. The most remarkable example of the latter is the description of 14 new species of Gnorimoschema and 5 new North American records of Pale- arctic species (Povolný 1998) which are included in a special issue (dedicated to a deceased entomologist) of the botanical journal Stapfia published in Austria! This publication is critical for understanding the Canadian Gnorimoschemini fauna, because beside several new Holarctic records, 12 of the 13 newly described Nearctic species are from Canada (Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon Territory). Povolný’s genitalia illustrations consist exclusively of line drawings which display a confusing amount of preparation artifacts. As a result many subtle species differences are obscured whereas distortion-induced differences are apparent. Male genitalia are mounted and illustrated in a ventral, unspread

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