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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371169
Research Project: Systematics of Moths Significant to Biodiversity, Quarantine, and Control, with a Focus on Invasive Species

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Opostegidae (Lepidoptera) of the Americas: updated catalogue with diagnostics of species groups and descriptions of new species

Author
item STONIS, JONAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item REMEIKIS, ANDRIUS - National Research Centre
item DISKUS, ARUNAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item VARGAS, SERIGO - Real Jardin Bolancio Csic
item Solis, M Alma

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2020
Publication Date: 10/23/2020
Citation: Stonis, J.R., Remeikis, A., Diskus, A., Vargas, S.A., Solis, M.A. 2020. Opostegidae (Lepidoptera) of the Americas: updated catalogue with diagnostics of species groups and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 122(4):929-972.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.122.4.916

Interpretive Summary: Opostegids are tiny moths whose larvae mine the cambium, a one-cell layer, of woody stems and fruits in a wide variety of plant families. Five new species from South America are described and pictorial diagnostics for 12 species groups is provided. A catalog of 102 described species in the Western Hemisphere is provided. We include new distributions and photographic images of some species for the first time. Molecular data, history of species descriptions, and numbers of species per country, including the United States, are discussed. This research will be useful to scientists and quarantine workers interested in the biology and identity of cambium miners.

Technical Abstract: We list 102 currently known Opostegidae species from the Americas, designate one new species group, and provide pictorial diagnostics for all twelve revised species groups. Five new species are described: Neopostega dondavisi Stonis and Remeikis, n. sp., Pseudopostega cucullata Stonis and Vargas, n. sp., P. bogotensis Vargas, n. sp., P. bifida Stonis and Remeikis, n. sp., and P. spinosa Stonis & Diškus, n. sp. We publish new data on distribution and provide the first photographic documentation of Pseudopostega ovatula Davis and Stonis, P. monstruosa Davis and Stonis, P. sacculata Meyrick, P. fumida Davis and Stonis, P. paraplicatella Davis and Stonis, P. apotoma Davis and Stonis, P. diskusi Davis and Stonis, P. sublobata Davis and Stonis, P. didyma Davis and Stonis, P. denticulata Davis and Stonis, P. ecuadoriana Davis and Stonis, and P. venticola Walsingham. We briefly discuss available molecular data, history of species descriptions, and provide numbers of species per country of the Western Hemisphere.