A Revision of Lasionycta Aurivillius (lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for North America and Notes on Eurasian Species : With Descriptions of 17 New Species, 6 New Subspecies, a New Genus, and Two New Species of Tricholita Grote

The moth genus Lasionycta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), like several other genera that occur mainly in arctic and alpine areas, are highly sought but rarely encountered by noctuid enthusiasts.

The diurnal species are occasionally seen by butterfly collectors, who manage to get into these areas, but light trapping in these remote habitats is very difficult.

The group has eluded a long-needed revision because many species are similar, exhibit a large amount of local and geographical variation, and insufficient material has been available for revisionary work.

A large amount of material collected in the past 10 years has finally made a comprehensive revision of Lasionycta possible.

Also, most of the species were evaluated using mitochondrial cytochrome c-oxidase (COI) DNA sequences, commonly called barcodes, a relatively new taxonomic tool that has only recently come into common usage. This revision treats the 43 species known to occur in North America, 17 of which are described as new.

Three quarters of the North American species are involved in taxonomic changes and five species associated with Pacific Coast beaches are removed from Lasionycta and placed in Psammophila, a new genus. The revision includes 246 color images of adults and genitalia, as well as distribution maps for all species.

The results will also be interesting for Palearctic researchers because four species are Holarctic and some of the other approximately 12 Old World species of Lasionycta are mentioned as occurring in Holarctic species complexes.

Several Palearctic species are discussed in reference to excluding them from Lasionycta and returning them to the genera Lasionhada, Eriopygodes, and Clemathada.