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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
When disturbed, adult Hemileuca assume a characteristic defensive posture in which the brightly colored abdomen is curled under the thorax to the head (Tuskes et al. 1996). This posture exposes the abdomen to a predators attack. However, Steve McElfresh (pers. comm.) has observed the Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus Lesson (Neomorphidae), consuming large numbers of Hemileuca males, apparently undaunted by this display.
This study was conducted under U. S. Navy contract N68711-96-LT-C0048 to the San Diego Natural History Museum. I thank Norris Bloomfield for assistance with field work; Steve McElfresh and Jocelyn Millar for generously sharing synthetic pheromone; and Larry Gall, Felix Sperling, Jerry Powell, two anonymous referees and especially John Brown for helpful comments that greatly improved the manuscript. This research was supported in part by the Margaret C. Walker Fund for teaching and research in systematic entomology, and a Hatch grant to Felix Sperling.
Literature Cited
FERGUSON, D. C. 1971. Bombycoidea, Saturniidae (part 1). Moths of America north of Mexico, Fascicle 20.2A. E. W Classey Ltd. and R. B. D. Publ., Inc. 153 pp.
POWELL, J. A. 1987. Records of prolonged diapause in Lepidoptera. J. Res. Lepid. 25:83-109.
TUSKES, P. M. 1984. The biology and distribution of California Hemileucinae (Saturniidae). J. Lepid. Soc. 38:281-309.
TUSKES, P. M. & S. MCELFRESH. 1995. The biology and distribution of Hemileuca elec-tra (Saturniidae) populations in the United States and Mexico, with descriptions of two new subspecies. J. Lepid. Soc. 49:49—71.
TUSKES, P. M., J. P. TUTTLE & M. M. COLLINS. 1996. The wild silkmoths of North America. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, New York. 264 pp.
Stone, S. E. & M. J. Smith. 1990. Buckmoths (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae: Hemileuca) in relation to southwestern vegetation and foodplants. Desert Plants 10, 13-18:23-30.
Daniel Rubinoff, Division of Insect Biology, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Received for publication 18 August 1997; revised and accepted 6 January 1998.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 52(2), 1998, 214-216
NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL AND FOODPLANT RECORDS FOR TWENTY CUBAN MOTHS
Additional key words: distribution, larval sampling, light traps, Estigmene acrea.
The most recent treatment of the Cuban insect fauna is that of Bruner et al. (1975), which discussed a number of lepidopteran species of economic interest. The purpose of the present paper is to expand upon this base of knowledge, and provide new distributional and foodplant records for 20 species of Lepidoptera from Cuba. All records discussed in the text and Table 1 derive from field collections made since 1990. Larvae were removed from their wild hosts and reared individually to adults in the laboratory in petri dishes, with fresh pieces of foodplant provided daily. Voucher specimens of adults are deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Centro de Investigaciones de Medio Ambi-ente (CIMA) in Camaguey, Cuba.
Table 1 summarizes the rearing results for 15 moth species. In addition, foodplant relationships were determined for 4 species for which no previous Cuban data were available. These 4 species are discussed in greater detail below, as is the recent capture of Estigmene acrea, apparently a new record for the island of Cuba.
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Table 1. Foodplant relationships recorded in this study for Cuban Lepidoptera.
Species
Geometridae
Disclisioprocta stellata (Guenee 1857)
Noctuidae
Hypena vetustalis Guenee 1854 Mursa phtisialis (Guenee 1854)
Crambidae
Hyalorista limasalis (Walker 1886) Ategunia ebulealis (Guenee 1854) Arthromastix lauralis (Walker 1859) Bicilia iarchasalis (Walker 1859) Cryptobotys zoilusalis (Walker 1859) Hileithia ductalis Moschler 1890 Lineodes graciealis Herr.-Sch. 1871 Omiodes cuniculalis Guenee 1854 Salbia haemorrhoidalus Guenee 1854
Pyralidae
Pococera jovira (Schaus 1922)
Thyrididae
Banisia myrsusalis (Walker 1859)
Foodplant
Boerhaavia erecta (Nyctaginaceae)
Sida rhombifolia (Malvaceae) Malva acuta (Malvaceae)
Hyptis verticillata (Labiatae)
Heterotrichum umbellatum (Melastomataceae)
Trichostigma octandrum (Phytolacaceae)
Rivinia humilis (Phytolacaceae)
Xanthium struemarium (Asteraceae)
Blechum pyramidatum (Acanthaceae)
Brunfelsia sp. (Solanaceae)
Gliricidia septum (Leguminosae)
Lantana camara (Verbenaceae)
Syda nodiflora (Verbenaceae)
Phyla scaberrima (Verbenaceae)
Gliricidia sepium (Leguminosae) Chrysophyllum oliviforme (Sapotaceae)
Tortricidae
Coelostathma parallelana Walsing. 1887 Acacia farnesiana (Leguminosae)
Estigmene acrea (Drury). This polymorphic species has a wide distribution in the New World, from Canada to Colombia (Hampson 1901, Watson & Goodger 1986). One female was collected at Sierra de Najasa Natural Reserve, Camagiiey Province, Cuba, on a wall attracted to an incandescent light. Estigmene acrea is not known from any of the An-tillean islands (J. Rawlins, D. Ferguson, L. Hernandez, in litt.) and is likely a recent introduction for Cuba, as such a conspicuous species would not remain unnoticed for very long. The female was kept alive for one day and laid a mass of eggs from which about 20 larvae emerged. These were fed on fresh cabbage leaves but died before pupation. The captured female is the white form as illustrated in Covell (1984, pi. 13, fig. 16).
Hymenia perspectalis (Hiibner). Larvae of this species were collected and reared on Alternanthera pungens (Amaranthaceae). This species is distributed throughout the Neartic and Neotropical regions, as well as Australia and Ethiopia (Passoa 1985). Several foodplants are recorded in the literature: Eclipta prostrana, Eleutheranthera ruderalis, Melanthera canescens, Wedelia trilobata (Asteraceae); Amaranthus hibridus, A. australis (Amaranthaceae); and Rivinia humilis (Phytolacaeae).
Lygropia tripunctata (Fabricius). This species was collected and reared on Turbina corymbosa and Merremia umbellata (Convolvulaceae), and is widely distributed from the United States to Brazil, including the Antilles (Passoa 1985). Its larvae feed on plants in the family Convolvulaceae (Bruner et al. 1975, Alayo & Valdes 1982, Passoa 1985).
Microtyris anormalis (Guenee). Larvae of this species were collected and reared on Ipomoea batatas and Turbina corymbosa (Convolvulaceae). It ranges from the United States to South America, including the Antilles and West Indies (Passoa 1985). The litera-
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ture I reviewed only cited convolvulaceous foodplants for this moth, but Silva and d'Araujo (1968) list Tabemamontana coronaria (Apocynaceae).
Pleuroptya silicalis (Guenee). Larvae of this species were collected and reared on Ipomoea batatas, I. setifera, Merremia umbellata (Convolvulaceae) and Rivinia humilis (Phytolacaceae). The distribution of this species includes Panama, Guyana and Brazil (Druce 1881). Bruner et al. (1975) recorded it from Cuba on Bouganvillea spectabilis (Nyctaginaceae) and Bohemeria nicea (Urticaceae).
I thank Vitor O. Becker for identifying the Lepidoptera, and Eddy Martinez and Angela Beyra (CIMA, Camaguey, Cuba) for identifying the foodplants.
Literature Cited
Alayo, P. & E. Valdes. 1982. Lista anotada de los microlepidopteros de Cuba. Acade-mia de Ciencias de Cuba, La Habana. 122 pp.
Bruner, S. C, Scaramuzza, L. C. & A. R. Otero. 1975. Catalogo de insectos que ata-can a las plantas economicas de Cuba. Academia de Ciencias de Cuba, Instituto de Zoologia, La Habana. Ed. Academia, 2da. edicion, revisada y aumentada. 399 pp.
COVELL, C. V. 1984. A field guide to the moths of eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 496 pp.
DRUCE, H. 1881. Biologia Centrali-Americana. Lepidoptera, Heterocera. Vol. 1. London. 490 pp.
Hampson, G. F. 1901. Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the collection of the British Museum, London. London, British Museum (Natural History). 690 pp.
PASSOA, S. 1985. Taxonomy of larvae and pupae of economically important Pyralidae in Honduras. Unpubl. M. Sc. Thesis, Univ. Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 486 pp.
SJLVA, A. G. & A. D'Araujo. 1968. Quarto catalogo dos insetos que vivem sobre plantas do Brasil Rio de Janeiro, Minesterio de Agricultura, pt. 2, to. 1. 622 pp.
Watson, A. & D. T. GOODGER. 1986. Catalogue of the neotropical tiger-moths. London, British Museum (Natural History). Occas. Pap. Syst. Entomol. No. 1. 71 pp.
AURORA BENDICHO-LOPEZ, Centra de Investigaciones de Medio Ambiente, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia y Medio Ambiente, Cisneros 105 (altos), Camaguey 70100, Cuba.
Received for publication 17 October 1997; revised and aceepted 16 January 1998.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 52(2), 1998, 216-217
NEW ANT ASSOCIATIONS FOR GLAUCOPSYCHE LYGDAMUS DOUBLEDAY (LYCAENIDAE)
Additional key words: myrmecophily, silvery blue, Astragalus.
Larval myrmecophily among the Lycaenidae is well known and documented. In North America, the silvery blue, Glaucopsyche lygdamus Doubleday, and its associated ants have been studied by Pierce and Mead (1981) and Pierce and Easteal (1986). Larvae of G. lygdamus secrete substances (e.g., sugars, amino acids) that attract and feed ants, while ants provide protection against predators and parasitoids (Pierce & Easteal 1986).
While collecting in the Ozarks (Christian County, Missouri) in April 1996, we discovered a colony of G. lygdamus. We attempted to find its larval host by observing adult females and searching legumes for larvae. We subsequently discovered that most larvae were found on Astragalus crassicarpus var. trichocalyx (Nutt.) (Fabaceae); Vicia carolini-ana Walt. (Fabaceae) was also infrequently used. The larvae often were tended by ants, and we noted size discrepancies among the ants. A few ants were collected for identification purposes. In a return trip to the area in 1997, we decided to look more closely at the ant-larva relationship and collect a larger sample of larvae and their associated ant tenders. We also observed that the larger instars appeared to be tended by larger ants.