Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Immigrant Tortricidae: Holarctic versus Introduced Species in North America
By Gilligan, T.M., J.W. Brown, J, Baixeras
Insects, 11(9), 594: 1-59., 2020
Cite: 1888160 with citation markup [cite:1888160]
Gilligan, T.M., J.W. Brown, J, Baixeras, 2020. Immigrant Tortricidae: Holarctic versus Introduced Species in North America. Insects, 11(9), 594: 1-59. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11090594

Abstract: In support of a comprehensive update to the checklist of the moths of North America, we attempt to determine the status of 151 species of Tortricidae present in North America that may be Holarctic, introduced, or sibling species of their European counterparts. Discovering the natural distributions of these taxa is often difficult, if not impossible, but several criteria can be applied to determine if a species that is present in both Europe and North America is natively Holarctic, introduced, or represented by different but closely related species on each continent. We use DNA barcodes (when available), morphology, host plants, and historical records (literature and museum specimens) to make these assessments and propose several taxonomic changes, as well as future areas of research. The following taxa are raised from synonymy to species status: Acleris ferrumixtana (Benander, 1934), stat. rev.; Acleris viburnana (Clemens, 1860), stat. rev.; Acleris pulverosana (Walker, 1863), stat. rev.; Acleris placidana (Robinson, 1869), stat. rev.; Lobesia spiraeae (McDunnough, 1938), stat. rev.; and Epiblema arctica Miller, 1985, stat. rev. Cydia saltitans (Westwood, 1858), stat. rev., is determined to be the valid name for the “jumping bean moth,” and Phiaris glaciana (Möschler, 1860), comb. n., is placed in a new genus. We determine that the number of Holarctic species has been overestimated by at least 20% in the past, and that the overall number of introduced species in North America is unexpectedly high, with Tortricidae accounting for approximately 23–30% of the total number of Lepidoptera species introduced to North America.