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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #370465
Research Project: Systematics of Moths Significant to Biodiversity, Quarantine, and Control, with a Focus on Invasive Species

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: American Tischeriidae (Lepidoptera) species from the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C

Author
item STONIS, JONAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item REMEIKIS, ANDRIUS - Nature Research Centre
item DISKUS, ARUNAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item DAVIS, DONALD - Smithsonian Institute
item Solis, M Alma

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/22/2020
Publication Date: 2/11/2020
Citation: Stonis, J.R., Remeikis, A., Diskus, A., Davis, D.R., Solis, M.A. 2020. American Tischeriidae (Lepidoptera) species from the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 122(3):485-505.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.122.2.482

Interpretive Summary: Trumpet moths have larvae that are leaf miners of wild and cultivated plants and therefore important as potential pests. They are among the least studied lepidopteran groups in the U.S.A. We examine six trumpet moth species from the collection of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Washington, D.C. We discovered and describe two new species from Arizona, U.S.A. The new taxa are illustrated with photographs of the adults and their genitalia. We discuss a novel character in the female for the entire family and feeding of the larvae on the mallow family. This research will be useful to scientists interested in the biology and identity of native leaf mining moths on plants of the mallow family.

Technical Abstract: We examine six Tischeriidae species from the collection of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Washington, D.C. We discovered among the holdings and describe two new species from Arizona, U.S.A: Astrotischeria bucera Remeikis and Stonis, n. sp. and A. tucsonica Remeikis and Stonis, n. sp. Host plants of both species are unknown. All specimens available for the study were collected at light by R. S. Wielgus in 1990. The new taxa are illustrated with photographs of the adults and their genitalia. Additionally, we provide the first photographic documentation of Astrotischeria omissa (Braun, 1927) (feeding on Althaea L., Malvaceae), A. heliopsisella (Chambers, 1875) (feeding on Ambrosia L. and Heliopsis Pers., Asteraceae), Coptotriche inexpectata (Braun, 1972), and C. confusa (Braun, 1972) (two latter feeding on Fragaria L., Rosaceae). We briefly discuss the Malvaceae-feeding Astrotischeria Puplesis and Diškus, and discovery of a modified, hitherto undocumented ovipositor of A. bucera n. sp. and A. omissa, a novel character for the entireTischeriidae family.