Species Xanthotype urticaria - False Crocus Geometer Moth - Hodges#6740

6740

Xanthotype urticaria Swett, 1918

Work done by Jeremy DeWaard shows that DNA barcodes for urticaria and sospeta are identical. The two species appear to be inseparable by COI sequence data, as is the case with many closely related species studied in this paper. Some have suggested that these two are a single species because of the DNA similarity, however, no revision has been published to date reflecting this, and the two are consistently different in the shape of the aedeagus, and the phenologies are different in many areas where the ranges overlap.

Reference: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0018290

(Authors: Jeremy DeWaard; Paul Hebert [at BOLD and chair of iBOL initiative])

It should, however, be noted that the two species are separated by male genitalia. See Rindge, 1978 (1).

Rindge, F.H. 1978. A revision of the moth genus Xanthotype (Lepidoptera, Geometridae). American Museum Novitates 2659: 6; figs. 1-8; male genitalia, fig. 9. (1)

Swett, L.W. 1918. Xanthotype crocataria Fabricius, with descriptions of new species. The Lepidopterist 2(6) pl. 7, figs. 5-6.

Moth Photographers Group (MPG) (2)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (3)

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)(4)

E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum (5)