Dusky dune moth (Copablepharon longipenne) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 5

COSEWIC Status Report
on the
Dusky Dune Moth
Copablepharon longipenne
in Canada
2007

Species Information

Name and Classification

Scientific name:

Copablepharon longipenne

Classification

 

Order:
Lepidoptera
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea
Family:
Noctuidae
Tribe:
Agrotini
Genus:
Copablepharon
Species:
longipenne

Synonyms:

Copablepharon longipennis (Hampson, 1903); C. serraticornis A. Blanchard 1976; C. serratacorne Franclemont and Todd, 1983.

Moths of North America (MONA) Number:

RWH 10685, 10689

Bibliographic citation:

Grote, A.R. 1882. New moths. Canadian Entomologist 14(9): 169–176.

Type specimens:

Type locality: Montana; holotype in US National Museum.

English names:

Brown Copablepharon was proposed by Hooper (1994); suggested names are Palliser Dune Moth reflecting the moth’s association with the Palliser Triangle in Canada or Great Plains Dune Moth, which reflects its global distribution. Jean-François Landry suggests: Dusky Dune Moth

French name:

Noctuelle Sombre des Dunes.

 

Taxonomic Background and Similarities

Copablepharon longipenne belongs to the largest of eight Copablepharon species groups recognized by Lafontaine (2004). The longipenne group contains eleven allopatric species from dune ecosystems in western North America.Copablepharonlongipenne is the only species from this group found in Canada.

Two subspecies of C. longipenne are recognized, although only one occurs in Canada. Copablepharonlongipenne ssp. longipenne occurs from southern Manitoba to southern Alberta in Canada and south to Wyoming in the US. It is distinguished from the other subspecies by its darker yellow forewing with a prominent postmedial line with a black dot on each wing vein (Lafontaine, 2004). Copablepharonlongipenne ssp. serraticornis occurs in dry sandy prairie from eastern Colorado and western Nebraska southward to the bottom of the Texas Panhandle and westward to southern New Mexico (Lafontaine, 2004).


Morphological Description

Adults: Copablepharon longipenne is a medium-sized, light brown moth with a distinctive line of black dots on the forewing (Figure 1a, b, and d). Adults are sexually dimorphic in size: forewing length averages 16.5 mm (range 11–19 mm) in males and 18.5 mm (range 17–20 mm) in females (Lafontaine, 2004). A pale streak is often present along the edge of the forewing or between the cubital and anal veins (Lafontaine, 2004). A series of uniformly sized black dots mark each wing vein at the postmedial line. The hindwing is brown-grey darkening towards the fringe. The fringe is dark brown basally and white outwardly.


Figure 1. Adult and Egg Stages of Copablepharon longipenne: a) Mounted Specimen from the CNC Collection (collection site unknown); b) Adult Female Ovipositing in Open Sand (Seward Sand Hills, SK); c) Egg Mass Excavated from Open Sand in the Seward Sand Hills; and d) Adult Moth Hiding Beneath Shrub Vegetation in Great Sand Hills, SK

Figure 1. Adult and egg stages of Copablepharon longipenne: a) mounted specimen from the CNC collection (collection site unknown); b) adult female ovipositing in open sand (Seward Sand Hills, SK); c) egg mass excavated from open sand in the Seward Sand Hills; and d) adult moth hiding beneath shrub vegetation in Great Sand Hills, SK.

Photo a by J.T. Troubridge. Photos b, c, and d by N.A. Page.

Eggs

The eggs of C. longipenne are translucent white spheres, approximately 0.3 mm in diameter. They are deposited in groups of 15 to 35 in open sand (Figure 1c).

Larvae

The larvae of C. longipenne have a grey base colour overlain with brownish-red stripes (Seamans, 1925). The ventral surface is distinctly bluish. The head and thoracic shield are light brown with grey mottling.

Pupae

The pupae of C. longipenne are similar to those of other species of Copablepharon with a distinctive separate compartment (haustellum) enclosing the proboscis.The haustellum extends to the posterior margin of the 6th abdominal segment. The apex of the last abdominal segment is short and smooth with a pair of straight hairs. The pupa is enclosed in an earthen cell below ground (Strickland, 1920).


Genetic Description

Genetic variation in a mitochondrial gene has recently been measured in ten Copablepharon species, including C. longipenne, as part of the All Leps Barcode of Life project (Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, 2007); however, results are not available. Geographic isolation of sand dune areas in the southern Canadian prairies suggests that population-level genetic variation may occur.

Lafontaine (2004) noted that C. longipenne and five closely related species (Copablepharon solumbia Crabo and Lafontaine, C. michiganensis Crabo and Lafontaine, C. mutans Crabo and Lafontaine, C. nevada Crabo and Lafontaine, and C. pictum Fauske and Lafontaine) may be geographic isolates of the same species. More work using molecular techniques or laboratory rearing was recommended to improve the understanding of the taxonomic relationships of these taxa. Because C. longipenne is the only species from this group present in Canada, any taxonomic changes resulting from such work are not anticipated to affect the conservation significance of this species.

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