Sclerocona acutella (Eversmann) (Crambidae: Pyraustinae), naturalized along the Eastern Seaboard

4 Pages·2003·2.2 MB·English

by  David L Wagner

JournaloftheLepidopterists'Society
57(4),2003,270-273
SCLEROCONAACUTELLA (EVERSMANN) (CRAMBIDAE: PYRAUSTINAE),
NATURALIZED ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD
David L. Wagner
DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiology, UniversityofConnecticut, Storrs,Connecticut06269,USA. E-mail
[email protected]
Doug C. Ferguson1
SystematicsEntomologyLaboratory,USDA,AgriculturalResearchSendee,c/oNationalMuseumofNaturalHistoiy,
Washington, DC20560-0168,USA
AND
John D. Glaser
6660LochHillRoad,Baltimore, Maryland21239,USA
ABSTRACT. Scleroconaacutella (Eversmann),aEurasianspeciespreviouslyundocumentedfromNorthAmerica,isreportedfrom 14lo-
calitiesinConnecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, andRhodeIsland.Thefirst NorthAmericanspecimenwascapturedin 1984atacoastallo-
cation in Bristol, Massachusetts. Capture andrearingrecords suggestthe moth feeds oncommon reed, Phragmitesaustralis (Cav.) Trin. ex
Steud. (Poaceae),in freshwaterandbrackishwetlands. GiventheincreasingabundanceofPhragmitesalongwatercoursesandsomeupland
habitats,Scleroconastandstobecomeoneoftheregionsmostcommonwetlandmoths.
Additionalkeywords: alienspecies,Phragmites,biocontrol,wetlands.
Sclerocona acutella is a large, easily recognizable, Sclericonaacutellus, Marion, 1957:82.
wetlandpyraustine. Ris nativeto Europe andAsia, oc- SScclleerrooccoonnaaaaccuutteelllluas,,KPaarlsmh,ol1t98&6:2R3a1z.owski (eds.), 1996:194.
curring from Spain and Sicily northward to Great
Britain (as astray) and Denmark (rare) eastto Siberia, Diagnostic description. Length of forewing
Japan, and China (Inoue et al. 1982, Palm 1986, (males): 11.5-12.5 mm. The light brown adults ofthis
Karsholt & Razowski 1996, Parenti 2000, SiberianZo- species superficially resemble their namesake, Nascia
ological Museum 2002). Ongoing surveys of Lepi- acutella (Walker) of eastern North America (see
doptera in southern New England and Maryland re- Munroe 1976: pi. 1, figs. 67-71), but Sclerocona adults
vealed the presence of Sclerocona in a variety of have much longer porrect palpi, glossy white wing
wetlands along the eastern sea board of the United fringe scales, apale costa, and lack the distinctive pale
States, includingestuaries, marshes, fens, swamps, and intervenular streaks of the forewing of Nascia. The
lake and pond margins. We assume that the species uniqueforewingvenation (Fig. 5) ofS. acutella males is
was introduced accidentally, but because larvae feed probablydiagnosticwithin ourfauna. The cubital stem
on Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. bends deeply into the posterior side ofthe discal cell
(Poaceae), an aggressively invasive plant in many andbackagain, reducingtheproximalhalfofthecellto
northeastern wetlands, there remains the possibility onlyhalfthewidth ofthe distal half. This makes space,
that itwas purposefullyintroduced, althoughwewere asitwere,foracuriouslyenlargedandmodified,cornu-
unable to locate anyliterature indicatingsuch. copia-shapedretinaculum (Figs. 3, 4),whichopens dis-
Voucherspecimens are depositedin the followingin- tallyandprovides a shelteron the wing surfacejust in-
stitutions and personal collections: John D. Glaser side its opening for a small mat ofdarker, specialized
(JGC), Lloyd Center for Environmental Science scales ofuncertain function (perhaps the structure and
(LCES), UniversityofConnecticut(UCONN),andUni- modifiedscales servetodisperse asexpheromone).
versity ofRhode Island Biological Control Lab (URI). The male genitalia (Fig. 6) are unlike those ofthe
Selectedreferences andadiagnosticdescriptionfollow. nearcticNascia acutella but show surprising similarity
to those ofOenobotys Munroe (Crambidae: Pyrausti-
Scleroconaacutella (Eversmann) nae) (Munroe 1976: pi. A, figs. 6, 7; Ferguson et al.
Cramhusacutellus Eversmann, 1842:563. 1991: figs. 203a, c), having a similar fanlike cluster of
ScleroconaacutellaMeyrick,1890:445. MeyrickproposedSclerocona processes on the inner face ofthe valve that resemble
widiCrambusacutellusEversmannastheonlyincludedspecies. spatulate scales, each ofwhich is expanded and bi- or
trifurcate at its outer end. However, Sclerocona
1Deceased. acutella also has a separate, prominent, spinose scle-
Volume 57, Number4 271
Figs. 1-4. Scleroconaacutella. 1,Adultmale,dorsal.2,Adultmale,ventral.3,Retinaculum(arrow).4,Clearedforewing.
rite (4-5spines) embeddedindievalvebeneath (orbe- &A.Valley, MV&blklt(l)(UCONN). Massachusetts: Barnstable
hind) the fanlike structure as viewed on the slide. The Co.,Bourne,23.vi-21.vii.1995,M. Mello,blklttrap(3M)(LCES);Bris-
tolCo., SouthDartmouth, LlovdCenter,2.vii.l984, Mello,blklt
uncus is elongate, smooth, and regularly tapered from (1) (LCES);samelocality,26.vi.1989, M Mello,blklt(1) (UCONN);
base to tip. The aedeagus has almost no sclerotizedin- HampdenCo.,Brimfield,14.vi.1996,MMello,blklttrap(1)(LCES);
clusions (cornuti). The everted vesica shows only one HampshireCo.,Amherst,7 May, 1999 (larva),adultissuedcirca15
June, 1999, LisaTewksburyandGeoffreyBalme (1)(URI); Suffolk
blind sidepocket (diverticulum) at about its midpoint, Co., Boston, Thompson Island, 24.vi.2002, M Mello, blklttrap (3)
andasmall, low, weaklysclerotizedhump fartherout. (LCES). Maryland: DorchesterCo.,Taylor's IslandWildlife Man-
agementArea, 14.vi.1998,J.D. Glaser,blklt(4)(JGC,USNM); Har-
Distribution. Connecticut: Fairfield Co., Danbury, Tarrvwile ford Co., Bush Wildlife Management Area, 5.vi.l999, J.D. Glaser,
PRaorbkb,i8n.svi.S2w0a01m,pD,.TLh.eWaNganteurre(1)Co(nUsCeOrNvaNn)c;yLHitoclhlfeinelbdecCok.,PrCeasnearavne,, bGllkalster(,9)b(lJaGcCkl,igUhStNtMr)ap;sW(o2r6)ce(sJtGeCr,CUo.S,NIMsl)e;ofHiWicgkhotr,yPl.oviin.t20C0y0,prJe.sDs.
8Tl(//rl92e)..nvv(diiU,ii.C.DllO.99N9947PN,,r)i;DMm.o.szaLiV.mcoehWloa&lvgoscnMakel.iirCt,y.(,lVT.2)h3(Go-Uim3lC0ae.OssvN,i&N.M)19;VM9.5&S,aClb.Dil.skTlbhtuWora(ymg7,an)seM(,roU,oCMJOrVNeTNr&)Bo;ruobeSloakmkll-,-t CLSiowt.at,lmeTpiC,voe2mr9pt.toVno.2nP0,o0c22a,5s.Jsv.eiGt.lt2a0sSe0r1w,,abmMlpkl,Mte2(l51l.)ov(,iJ.bG2lC0k)0l.1t,RtrhMaopdM(ee1l)lI(osL,lCaEbnlSdk):l.tNterwappo(1r)t;
isbury, Twin Lakes, 8/9.vii.l994, D. L. Wagner, V. Giles & M. C. Early stages. Parenti (2000) and Robinson et al.
Thomas,MV&blklt(l)(UCONN);samelocality,14.vii.1995,VGiles (2002) list Phragmites australis as the host for Sclero-
FlGS.5-6. Scleroconaacutella.5,Wingvenation.6,Malegenitalia.
—
272 Journalofthe Lepidopterists' Society
cona acutella. Lisa Tewksbury and Geoffrey Balme \ £ 1999
(pers. com.) rearedasingle adultfrom alarvacollected
/1996
in the lower stem ofPhragmites, on May 8-9, 1999, \J
/'
near Amherst, Massachusetts. The Phragmites stem fa' 2002
was dead and broken; presumably it had been alive
throughthefalloftheprevious season. The singlelarva *<^^Kr5s^ 1995
is believed to havepupatedwithout furtherfeeding. *^<rV«|22> 1984, 1989
Common reed, Phragmites australis, grows in both \\
^£2
freshwater and brackish wetlands, which is consistent , 2001
withthe rangeoflocalities representedamongourcol- *£f \2001
lections. Label data suggest the species is univoltine.
Records from southern New England, where the \\ 1994, 1995, 1997
species is bestknown, range froml4Juneto21 July (n
= 23),withmostcollections fallingwithinthelastweek \2001
ofJune and the first halfofJuly. The Maryland speci-
mens were collected between 1 and 14 June; the four _ 1999
fromthelatterdatebeingslightlyworn, indicatingthat
Sclerocona flies earlierin Maryland. ^v Vc*^ \ i\ 2000, 2002
Distribution in eastern North America. North <**pyti
1998
American records are from both inland and coastal
wetlands from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland,
Fig. 7. Distribution of Sclerocona acutella along eastern
and Rhode Island. The first NorthAmerican specimen seaboard. Localitydataappearsintext.
is believedtobe a male takenby Mark Melloin South
Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, at the
Lloyd ScienceCenterin 1984. Althoughthe mothcer- gamma (Esper), and Rhizedra lutosa (Hiibner) are
tainlyis distributed morewidely, correspondencewith Phragmites, Phalarus, or other grass-feeders that are
othermicrolepidopterists suggests thatitmaynothave common in coastal habitats in Europe. The recently
spread much beyondthe range we circumscribe here. established Oligia strigilis (L.) reported by Handfield
We have written to (microlepidoptera) collectors in (1999) also fits this pattern Don Lafontaine pers.
(J.
Maine (Tony Roberts), Michigan (George Balogh and com.). Mikkolaand Lafontaine (1994) suggestthatthe
Brian Scholtens), Ohio (Steve Passoa), Ontario (Jean- turfand soil beingpicked up in shipyards, e.g., on the
Francois Landry), and Quebec (Louis Hanfield) bottoms oflarge shippingcontainers, couldbe respon-
none haveyettaken this species. sibleforthe recentspateofEuropeancoastal mothin-
Etymology. The generic name is a compound of troductions along our eastern seaboard. Sclerocona
the Greek adjectivesclero, meaning tough, hard, and acutella, beingaPhragmites feeder, isyetanothercan-
the Latin masculinenoun,conus (orthe Greekkonos), didate fortheirlist.
obviously referring to the cone-shaped retinaculum. Phragmites australis is the focus ofconservation ef-
Meyrick (a classics scholar) intended Sclerocona to be forts on both sides ofthe Atlantic Ocean, but for dif-
feminine, spelling it with a feminine ending and ferent reasons. In parts of Europe it is a local, pro-
changingthe species name fromacutellus to the femi- tected species that has even been the focus of
nine form,acutella.We mentionthisbecausesome au- restoration efforts (e.g., Skuhravy 1978, Ostendorp
thors have continued to use acutellus in combination 1989, Tscharntke 1990, 1992). On this continent, the
with the feminine generic name. plant is consideredan invasive species thatis overrun-
Remarks. Giventhebroaddistributionofthe moth ningwetlands, establishing almost pure monocultures
alongtheeastern seaboardandthe scantcollectionsof ofreed in coastal and inlandwetlands that previously
pyraloids, the moth surely has been established for werefloristicallydiverse (Garcia 1998, Chambers etal.
some time on the East Coast. Short ofdrawing infer- 1999; Orson 1999, Saltonstall 2002). Given the new-
ences from detailed population genetic studies, there found successes of Phragmites, we expect that adult
would seem tobe nowayto establishwhen, where, or Sclerocona will be become one ofthe most abundant
howthis specieswas introduced. moths inthevicinityofwetlands in manynortheastern
Mikkola and Lafontaine (1994) made the observa- states. Ifthe moth proves to be a specialist ofPhrag-
tion that several recently introduced moths in the mites, it might have a future as a biocontrol agent in
Northeast, e.g.,Apameaunanimis (Hiibner),A. ophio- programs seekingto curb the spread ofthis grass.
Volume 57, Number4 273
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vember2002. Hehadassembledapartialdraftofthispaperin2001. riparian nocJt.uid moths from the Palearctic region to North
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