Lasionycta quadrilunata

• 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 quadrilunata; Tundra; Alaska; Yukon
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3790202; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/75513F417B4CFFEBFF02EABA902AF9E5

Lasionycta quadrilunata (Grote) Figs 54–56, 166, 167, 222, 223. Map 14 Anarta quadrilunata Grote, 1874b: 244 Lasiestra quadrilunata McDunnough 1938: 71. Lasionycta quadrilunata Lafontaine et al. 1986: 263. Lasionycta quadrilunata yukona Lafontaine, 1986: 264. Type material. Anarta quadrilunata : holotype ♀ [USNM, examined]. Type locality: Colorado Territory. Lasionycta quadrilunata yukona : holotype ♀ [CNC, examined]. Type locality: 17 km WNW Burwash Flats, Yukon. Diagnosis. Lasionycta quadrilunata is an alpine species characterized by a large hindwing discal spot, a short broad digitus resembling an obtuse triangle, and a small rounded cucullus bearing a corona of four rows of setae. Th e forewing is light gray or slate gray with a yellow or olive tint. Th e dark-gray transverse lines are prominent but the spots are indistinct. Th e female bursa is similar to that of L . staudingeri but L . quadrilunata has an increased number of short setae on abdominal segment VIII, similar to L . lagganata . The male antenna of quadrilunata is weakly biserrate, almost beadlike (1.4× the width of the central shaft). Distribution and biology. Records of L . quadrilunata form an arc on a map, from south-central Alaska down the spine of the Rocky Mountains to Colorado. It flies over scree tundra and is diurnal. The flight period is from mid-July to early August. Geographical variation. The populations of L . quadrilunata are arranged in two subspecies. Published as part of Crabo, Lars & Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, A Revision of Lasionycta Aurivillius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for North America and notes on Eurasian species, with descriptions of 17 new species, 6 new subspecies, a new genus, and two new species of Tricholita Grote, pp. 1-156 in ZooKeys 30 (30) on page 62, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.30.308, http://zenodo.org/record/576576