Lasionycta uniformis

• 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 uniformis; Tundra; Yukon
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3790168; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/75513F417B32FF92FF02E88E9024FDD9

Lasionycta uniformis (Smith) Figs 70–81, 227–229, 171–173. Map 16 Scotogramma uniformis Smith, 1893b: 101. Again described as new in Smith 1894: 58. Lasiestra uniformis McDunnough 1938: 72. Lasionycta uniformis Lafontaine et al. 1986: 265. Type material. Listed under subspecies accounts. Diagnosis. Ironically L . uniformis is arguably the most variable species in the genus. It is widespread, occurring mostly near timberline in the mountains of western North America. Most populations can be identified by a combination of dorsal forewing and ventral hindwing characters. Th e dorsal forewing ground color is medium to dark gray, usually with discernible lines and less prominent spots, with variable amounts of other colors. The ventral hindwing ground color is pale whitish gray and almost all specimens have a dark thick arrowhead- or chevron-shaped discal spot. The postmedial line is usually more prominent than the marginal band; however, the opposite is true in the nominate subspecies from the Canadian Rocky Mountains. A few populations from the central Rocky Mountains are brown gray, but this is atypical for the species as a whole. In general, the darkness of the ventral hindwing markings correlates with the darkness of the dorsal forewing. Distinguishing features of each subspecies are given in greater detail below. The male valve has a straight costal margin. Th e corona is comprised of a single row of setae except for a partial double row at the apex. Th e vesica has 0–3 basal cornuti. Th e female genitalia and male antenna are typical for the species sub-group. The CO1 sequence of L . uniformis is variable with twelve haplotypes separated by up to 1.5 %. They are intermixed with those of L . phoca , L . brunnea , and L . discolor (Fig. 248). Distribution and biology. Lasionycta uniformis is widely distributed in the mountains of western North America. It occurs from southern Yukon to northern California and Colorado, with an isolated population in eastern Quebec. It flies over alpine tundra and is most ...