Table Of ContentPROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH.
93(4), 1991, pp. 828-833
THE IDENTITY OF ARCTIA OBLITERATA STRETCH
(LEPIDOPTERA: ARCTIIDAE)
Douglas C. Ferguson
Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, % U.S.
National Museum ofNatural History, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Abstract.—The type specimen ofArctia obliterata Stretch, 1885, was long misidentified
as a form ofGrammia ornata (Packard), and the name considered ajunior synonym of
ornata. Recent examination ofthe type shows that obliterata refers to the same species
as Grammia turbans (Chrisloph, 1892), described from Siberia but known also from
western North America. The name turbans Christoph must therefore be regarded as a
junior subjective synonym o{obliterata Stretch. No differences were found to distinguish
Siberian from North American specimens ofobliterata, and the origin ofthe type could
not be determined.
Key Words: Grammia, holarctic distribution, taxonomy
Arctia obliterata Stretch was described thatitisatype. Alsopinnedtothespecimen
from "1 (5 in only fair condition, sent me is a note by F. H. Benjamin explaining that
manyyearsagobyW. H. Edwards." (Stretch he considered it to be the true type, and an
1885: 105) (Fig. 1). The type locality was Allan Watson genitalia slide label, but no
not known, and Stretch did not illustrate suggestion of synonymy. Having recently
the specimen until 1906 (pi. 6, fig. 14) and studied manyspeciesofthisgroup, I atonce
then only after Hampson (1901: pi. 48, fig. recognized the holotype ofobliterata as the
9) had done so. Neither illustration was ac- same species as Arctia turbans Christoph,
curate enough for the species to be recog- 1892, the holarctic species long known as
nized. Most later authors guessed that ob- Apantesis turbans and more recently as
literata was Californian and relegated the Grammia turbans. Since no other author
nameto infrasubspecificstatusunderApan- made this connection, I feel obliged tojus-
tesisornata(Packard). My useofthegeneric tifytheidentification in somedetailbecause
name Grammia Rambur was explained in obliterata remained misidentified for 100
an earlier paper (Ferguson 1985: 229), in years, and its publication preceded that of
which most ofthe species previously placed turbans by seven years, thus requiring re-
in Apantesis Walker were transferred to placement ofa long-established name for a
Grammia. speciesthatoccursontwocontinents.Arctia
Fortunately, obliterata is one of the few turbans Christoph, 1892, thus becomes a
Stretch types to have survived and is in the juniorsubjective synonym oiGrammia ob-
collectionoftheCaliforniaAcademyofSci- literata (Stretch, 1885), NEW SYNONY-
ences, San Francisco. It bears a label saying MY.
"Arctiaobliterata Stretch" andacrude piece The type material ofG. turbans is in the
of red-bordered paper (Fig. 2) to indicate National Collection ofthe USSR at St. Pe-
VOLUME 93, NUMBER4 829
ti^r\%M.
Figs. 1-10. Grammia obliterata. 1, Holotype; 2, original labels on holotype; 3, 6, Irkutsk [Siberia], 16 July
1926, R.Gschwandner(in BritishMuseum Nat. Hist.);4,9, "MunkoSardyk,Sajan mont., 24Jul." M. E. Smith
genitaliaslide 2000; 5,<?, Nordegg, Alberta, 27 July 1921, J. McDunnough; 6, 3, samedata; 7, <?, same data but
collected 20July; 8,$, samedatabutcollected 27 July; 9,6, samedata; 10, <5, Glacier National Park, Montana,
"Aug. 1-7."
tersburg, and I have not seen it. However, 6, 7) tend to be about equally developed;
many topotypical specimens were collected the three main transverse bands are always
in the early 1900's, when Central Asia was incomplete and appear only costad of the
relatively accessible to European collectors, cubitus, with thesegmentsbetweenveinsSc
and I have examined three ofthese in the and Rs usually offset, inclined basad, orob-
U.S. National Museum and one from The solete; the thin lines on veins Cuj and 2nd
Natural History Museum, London. The A nearly always terminate well before
species was illustrated several times in pa- reachingtheirusualjuncturewith thezigzag
learctic literature, is easily recognized, and subterminal band; and the black spots of
indeed is so distinct that an early reviser the hindwing are regularly and consistently
proposed a new subgeneric name for it clusteredtowardtheoutermargin in achar-
(Smith 1938: 6). Itisoneofonlytwospecies acteristic, evenly spaced manner. The type
ofthispredominantlynearcticgenusknown ofobliterata conforms to these criteria and
to occur in the Palearctic Region, and both also agrees with turbansin size, wingshape,
also occur in northern North America. The underside pattern, and structure ofappend-
other is Grammia quenseli Paykull. ages, insofar as may be seen.
Grammia turbanshasa unique pattern in Stretch (1885: 105) appears to have ap-
which the cubital and postcubital stripes of preciated the unusual nature ofthe pattern
theforewing(sensuFerguson 1985: 188, figs. at least partly when he wrote: "The oma-
830 PROCEEDINGS OFTHE ENTOMOLOGICALSOCIETY OFWASHINGTON
mentation ofthe primaries places it in the amined, three from Nordegg, Alberta (Figs.
Quenselii,gelidagroup,characterizedbythe 7, 9)andonefrom Langham, Saskatchewan
presence ofonly the costal halfofthe ter- (Ferguson 1985: fig. 52) have the hindwing
minal band" (by which he evidently meant pale orange red, about the same shade as
the postmedial band). Perhaps because of those of obliterata. Hampson (1901: 402),
the badly rubbed condition of the type, who may not have seen specimens, did de-
however, he either failed to see or did not scribe the hindwing color of turbans from
emphasize in his drawing (Stretch 1906: pi. Mongolia as orange yellow, but four Sibe-
6, fig. 14) the heavily outUned cubital stem rian specimens available to me, labelled Ir-
(unlike that ofornata), the fadingout ofthe kutsk (Fig. 3) and Munko Sardyk, Sayan
pale vein lines on Cu^ and 2nd A, and the Mountains (Fig. 4), have the usual lemon
closely set nature ofthe black spots on the yellowhindwingsandcannotbe seentodif-
hindwing. All of these turbans characters ferfrom yellowAmerican specimensin any
may be seen in the type of obliterata, al- way. Variationbetweenredandyellowmay
though not necessarily clearly. Stretch re- be found in the hindwingcoloring ofnearly
constructedthelongitudinal vein linesashe all species ofGrammia and Apantesis, and
thought they should be, based on his fa- obliterata is no exception.
miliarity with other species. Although the The type of obliterata has two or three
transverse bands are accurately shown and indistinct dark spotsjust basad ofthe mid-
agree with the pattern of turbans, neither dle ofthe hindwing that may have contrib-
Stretch'spublisheddrawingnorHampson's uted to the confusion, as they are missing
givethe appearance ofturbans; thatofSeitz in most turbans. Again, however, two Al-
(1919: pi. 38k) is an even poorer likeness. berta specimens in the U.S. National Mu-
Itiseasytoseehowlaterlepidopteristswere seum collection do have such spots (Figs.
misled. However, Stretch's brief descrip- 5,6).
tion, including his reference to the hind- Thegenitaliaofthetypeofobliterata(Figs.
wings being "dull red with black spots," 11, 12), dissected and slide mounted by Al-
agrees with the type specimen. I have no lan Watson (his slide No. 1293), appear to
doubt that this is the holotype, and that it match those ofother specimens ofturbans
is the same species as turbans. The figure exceptforone inconsistency. Grammia tur-
given by Hampson (1901: pi. 48, fig. 9), bans normally has a variable, obtusely
copied from Stretch's then unpublished pointedorrounded,subapicalprotuberance
drawing, is inaccurately colored. The red or "shoulder" on the outer margin of the
color of the hindwing is exaggerated and valve (Figs. 13, 15) that is not readily ap-
shouldhavebeen moreyellowish, about like parent in the holotype of obliterata. This
that of ''Apantesis michabo," as shown in feature was not found to vary significantly
fig. 18 on the same plate. The figure in Seitz in the five other males examined, ofwhich
(copiedfromHampson)showstheredhind- threewereAmericanandtwowereSiberian.
wing even more intensified and bears little However, the valve appears to vary greatly
resemblance to the specimen that it is sup- inshapeifviewedfromdifferentangles. The
posed to depict. genitalia ofthe holotype ofobliterata were
The type of obliterata seems uncharac- over-macerated, somewhat misshapen, and
teristic of turbans in three minor respects, mounted with the valves not fully spread
and I had imagined that these differences apart, so that the blunt, ffattened apex of
might provide clues as to its geographic or- each valve is viewed edgewise from an as-
igin. The hindwingsare indeedpale reddish pect that makes it appear pointed. Thus, to
or orange rather than the usual lemon yel- achieve a perspective comparable to that of
low. However, of 48 other specimens ex- Figs. 13 and 15, onemustimaginethedistal
VOLUME 93, NUMBER 4 831
^
Figs. 11, 12. Grammia obliterataS, genitaliaofholotype, Allan Watson genitalia slide No. 1293. 11, Main
part ofgenitalia; 12, aedeagus.
end ofeach valve rotated until it lies flat. from southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan,
Also, intraspecific variation ingenital com- Alberta, Montana, and Idaho, where it has
ponents of other arctiids is often so great been collected at light in foothills or high
that variation ofsuch features in one ofsix plains habitats, flying 20July-6 September.
dissections, even if real, need not be sur- Colorado records are few, but I saw one
prising. No significant differences could be labeled Dinosaur, Moffat Co., Colorado,
seen in the female genitalia (two American, Aug. 1972, S. ElUs; and I was advised of
one Siberian). I concluded that there is no another from the Engel collection in the
reliable way to distinguish North American Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylva-
fromSiberianspecimensofthisspecies,even nia, labeled only "Colorado" (J. E. Rawlins
subspecifically. in litt.). Specimens were collected on the
None of this information points to the Green River, Daggett Co., 23 Aug. 1987, 1
originofthetypeoiobliterata. Itcouldhave Sept. 1990, by R. C. Mower. Although the
come from somewhere in northwestern range of G. obliterata extends to the sub-
North America, but probably not Califor- arctic, it is not known from alpine habitats
nia, where the presence ofthe species is not in North America. The known palearctic
impossible but remains unrecorded. It is distribution includes the Sayan Mountains,
known from Cameron Bay, on Great Bear Kentai Mountain, and other places in the
Lake, and Fort Smith, Northwest Territo- general region of the Siberian-Mongolian
ries (Canadian National Collection), and border (type locality of turbans: "Tunga-
832 PROCEEDINGSOFTHE ENTOMOLOGICALSOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
Figs. 13-16. Grammia obliterata, $ genitalia. 13, Specimen from Calgary, Alberta, USNM genitalia slide
No. 57,414; 14, same, aedeagus; 15, same specimen from Irkutsk [Siberia, USSR] shown in Fig. 3, DCFslide
1,581 (British Museum); 16, same, aedeagus. All photographsby the author.
Alpen, siidwestlich von Irkutsk"). This ex- D. Lafontaine, Biosystematics Research In-
traordinary disjunction would seem to stitute, Ottawa, E. G. Munroe, Dunrobin,
match that of Holoarctia cervini (Fallou) Ontario,AllanWatson, recentlyretiredfrom
(Ferguson 1985: 208), ofwhich, in the same TheNaturalHistoryMuseum, London, En-
way, nearctic and palearctic specimens seem gland, and P. A. Opler, U.S. Fish and Wild-
indistinguishable. life Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, for
helpful advice and providing access to es-
sential material. I thankJ. P. Donahue, Los
Acknowledgments
Angeles County Museum of Natural His-
I thank P. H. Amaud, Jr., ofthe Califor- tory, J. D. Lafontaine, Biosystematics Re-
nia Academy ofSciences, San Francisco, J. search Institute, Agriculture Canada, Ot-
VOLUME 93, NUMBER 4 833
tawa, J. E. Rawlins, Carnegie Museum, Hampson,G. F. 1901. Catalogueofthe Lepidoptera
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and R. L. Smiley, PhalaenaeintheCollectionoftheBritishMuseum
SystematicEntomology Laboratory, USDA, 3: 1-690, pis. 36-54. Trustees ofthe British Mu-
seum, London.
Beltsville, Maryland, for reviewing this pa- Seitz,A. 1913-1937 (text), 1940(plates). DieGross-
per. Schmetterlinge der Erde, 6, Die amerikanischen
SpinnerundSchwarmer.A.Kemen,Stuttgart. 1452
Literature Cited pp., 198 pis.
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birischeArt.HoraeSocietatisEntomologicaeRos- University ofIllinois, Urbana. 12 pp.
sicae26: 460-461. Stretch, R. H. 1885. Descriptions ofnew species of
Ferguson, D. C. 1985. Contributions toward reclas- Heterocera.EntomologicaAmericana 1: 101-107.
sificationoftheworldgeneraofthetribeArctiini, . 1906. HeteroceraAmericana. Journalofthe
Part1—IntroductionandarevisionoftheNeoarc- New York Entomological Society 14: 117-126,
tia-Grammiagroup(Lepidoptera:Arctiidae: Arc- pis. 2-12.
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