Lasionycta phoca Crabo & Lafontaine, 2009, sp. n.

• Main Authors: Crabo, Lars, Lafontaine, Donald
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2009
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae; Lasionycta; Lasionycta phoca; Subarctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3790166; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/75513F417B30FF94FF02E95390D9FDD9

Lasionycta phoca sub-group The L . phoca sub-group contains seven mostly medium-size (expanse 30–36 mm) species from alpine or subarctic habitats. Most occur in western North America, with two in the Northeast. Th e forewing is gray to brown gray with dark basal, antemedial, and postmedial lines; the orbicular and reniform spots are weakly defined, evident mostly due to pale filling, and the claviform spot is absent; in several species the forewing is mottled with white, blue gray, or yellow. Th e dorsal hindwing is typically dark with a pale fringe. Th e ventral hindwing, often useful for diagnosis, is white to pale gray (rarely brownish gray) with dark chevron- or arrowhead-shaped discal spot, postmedial line, and marginal band. A small species from the Sierra Nevada ( Lasionycta mono sp. n.) with a hindwing resembling species in the L . staudingeri sub-group is associated with this sub-group by the shape of the valve. The male valve is elongate with a weak to moderate narrowing at the base of the cucullus. The cucullus is fairly stout and similar to those of the L . leucocycla sub-group in shape. The corona is variable, simple with partial double row near the apex in most species, but comprised of several rows in two species. Th e digitus is cylindrical. The female genitalia are similar to those of the L . leucocycla sub-group. Th e corpus bursae is ovoid with a 50 % medial constriction and an appendix bursae of similar size to the corpus bursae. The male antennae are biserrate with triangular individual segments 1.5–2.1× as wide as the central shaft. Species in this sub-group are among the most diffi cult to identify in the genus. The genitalia are only helpful in a few of the species and the male antennae are generally indistinguishable. Most species resemble each other and several are variable to the point where individuals approach other species in appearance. For this reason, a definitive diagnosis is easiest when series can be examined. Identification is simplified by narrowing the possibilities by ...