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Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Pacifimusotima Ko & Solis, new genus and species of the Musotiminae (Lepidoptera Crambidae) from the Federated States of Micronesia, including two newly combined species

Author
item KO, JAE-HO - Research Institute Of Bioresources
item Solis, M Alma
item LEES, D. - Natural History Museum - London
item ALBERT, AUSTIN - Kosrae State Historic Preservation Office, Kosrae Island Resource Management Authority

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/29/2024
Publication Date: 8/22/2024
Citation: Ko, J., Solis, M.A., Lees, D., Albert, A. 2024. Pacifimusotima Ko & Solis, new genus and species of the Musotiminae (Lepidoptera Crambidae) from the Federated States of Micronesia, including two newly combined species. Zootaxa. 5497 (1):111-122. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5497.1.6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5497.1.6

Interpretive Summary: Some invasive ferns, such as the Japanese climbing fern, can cost up to $1520 per acre to control, but fern-feeding snout moths have been successful biological control agents of invasive ferns in the United States, for example, the Old World Climbing fern in the Everglades that infested 100,000 acres in Florida. We describe a new group of fern-feeding snout moths from Micronesia and transfer two other species into this group that had been misplaced in a group from South America. This research clarifies the identity of a group of fern-feeding moths that can be useful to action agencies, biological control workers of ferns, and biologists interested in the evolution of fern-feeding in insects.

Technical Abstract: Pacifimusotima kosrena Ko & Solis, gen. nov. sp. nov. is described from the Federated States of Micronesia. We newly combine Parthenodes eugethes (Tams, 1935) comb. nov., and Parthenodes rectangulalis (Kenrick, 1907) comb. nov., in Pacifimusotima Ko & Solis. Illustrations of adults, genitalia, and brief remarks on related species are provided.