Abstract
A Triosteum-feeding species of Sympistis is described from eastern North America: Sympistis forbesi sp. n. Identity of the new species is most reliably determined from larval morphology and host plant association—both adult scaling and genitalic characters overlap with those of Sympisitis chionanthi, a Chionanthus and Fraxinus feeder.
Highlights
Sympistis Hübner is the second largest genus of North American macrolepidopterans, with 176 recognized species (Troubridge 2008, Lafontaine and Schmidt 2010) and many others awaiting formal description
S. chionanthi feeds on Fraxinus L., Chionanthus L., and perhaps other members of the Oleaceae, whereas S. forbesi is believed to be associated only with Triosteum L. in the Caprifoliaceae, larvae can be reared on Fraxinus in the laboratory
Our motivation for the description of the Triosteum-feeding Sympistis is that both S. chionanthi and S. forbesi are worthy, or are likely to become, conservation targets
Summary
Sympistis Hübner is the second largest genus of North American macrolepidopterans, with 176 recognized species (Troubridge 2008, Lafontaine and Schmidt 2010) and many others awaiting formal description. Our motivation for the description of the Triosteum-feeding Sympistis is that both S. chionanthi and S. forbesi are worthy, or are likely to become, conservation targets. S. forbesi is believed to be extirpated from New Jersey (where Rummel first reported the species) and no extant colonies are known in New York (where Forbes and other Cornell lepidopterists knew it). We think it likely that it is declining or already extinct from much of its former eastern range due to decline in the abundance of Triosteum (feverwort), which fared better in the open agricultural landscapes of the two previous centuries. We describe the new Sympistis, illustrate the larval, pupal, and adult stages and provide a brief account of the biology of the new species
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