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Title: Three new species of Rectiostoma Becker, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Depressariidae) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica

Author
item HEIKKILA, M. - Smithsonian Institute
item Metz, Mark
item HALLWACHS, W. - University Of Pennsylvania
item JANZEN, D. - University Of Pennsylvania

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/2016
Publication Date: 2/16/2017
Citation: Heikkila, M., Metz, M., Hallwachs, W., Janzen, D.H. 2017. Three new species of Rectiostoma Becker, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Depressariidae) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 119(1):47-62.

Interpretive Summary: Leaf-tier moths are pests of agricultural crops and forest trees worldwide. Their varied diet makes them potential invasive threats to U.S. agriculture and natural resources, particularly species in the American tropics with close relatives in the contiguous United States. We describe three lief-tier moths new to Science. The species were collected in Costa Rica and initially identified using DNA. We provide the first food-plant information for American tropical species and diagnostic features to allow their identification. This information will be useful to scientists, action agency identifiers, and land resource managers.

Technical Abstract: We describe three new species of Rectiostoma Becker, 1982 from Costa Rica: R. annemayae Heikkilä and Metz spec. nov., R. eowilsoni Heikkilä and Metz spec. nov. and R. philipmayi Heikkilä and Metz spec. nov. We used a data set of DNA COI-barcodes accumulated for Lepidoptera collected at Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) to initially delimit the species, then confirmed identities with morphology of the male and female genitalia. We provide a neighbor-joining tree with supporting statistics, illustrations of adult specimens and their genitalia, and the first host plant records for Neotropical Rectiostomaspecies. We also include photographs of R. annemayeand R. eowilsoni larvae.