Author
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Brown, John |
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Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 2/23/2013 Publication Date: 5/8/2013 Citation: Brown, J.W. 2013. Two new Neotropical species of Platynota related to the Nearctic Platynota stultana Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 115(2):128-139. Interpretive Summary: Caterpillars of the moth family commonly known as “leaf-rollers” causes millions of dollars of damage annually to crops (primarily fruit), ornamental plants, and forest trees. Economic losses can be minimized by accurate identification of these pests and through their detection and exclusion at U.S. ports-of-entry. In this paper, two new species of leaf-roller moths that feed on cotton are described as new and compared to a native U.S. species know as the omnivorous leaf-roller. This information will be of interest to cotton growers and to action agencies such as APHIS-PPQ, whose role includes the prevention of entry of foreign pests into the U.S. Technical Abstract: Two new species of Platynota are described and illustrated: P. subtina, n. sp., from Venezuela, Bolivia, and Paraguay, and P. meridionalis, n. sp., from Argentina. Although both have been reared should be known only from cotton (Gossypium sp., Malvaceae), they are suspected to be polyphagous, as are nearly all other species in the genus. Based on two morphological characters of the male genitalia, i.e., transtilla densely covered with large thorns and juxta deeply excavated in the middle, the two new species appear to be most closely related to each other and to Platynota stultana Walsingham, described from northwestern Mexico. Platynota stultana, commonly referred to as the “omnivorous leafroller” in the American economic entomology literature, has been inadvertently introduced into many locations throughout the U.S.A., but apparently is unable to survive the winter in colder climates. The two new species also are compared to Platynota xylophaea (Meyrick), native to Argentina, with which they are superficially similar. |
