Pale yellow dune moth (Copablepharon grandis) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 3
Species Information
Name and classification
Scientific name:
Copablepharon grandis
Classification
Order
Lepidoptera
Superfamily
Noctuoidea
Family
Noctuidae
Subfamily
Noctuinae
Tribe
Agrotini
Genus
Copablepharon
Species
grandis
Synonyms:
- Aedophron grandis Strecker, 1878;
- Ablepharon grandis Strecker (1878);
- Copablepharon grande Franclemont and Todd, 1983.
Moths of North America (MONA) Number:
RWH 10681
Bibliographic citation:
Strecker, F.H.H. 1878. Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceras, Indigenous and Exotic; with Descriptions and Colored Illustrations. Reading, PA. 143 pp. 14 pls.
Type specimens:
Type locality: Arizona, USA; lectotype stored at Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois.
English names:
- Grand Copablepharon was suggested by Hooper (1994);
- proposed name: Pale Yellow Dune Moth.
French name:
Noctuelle jaune pâle des dunes
Taxonomic background and similarities:
Copablepharon grandis is one of two species included in the grandisgroup by Lafontaine (2004). The other member of the group is Copablepharon sanctaemonicae Dyar which is found in sand dunes of the southern Californian coast. The group is characterized by a narrow, S-shaped clasper of the male genitalia, and elongate, pointed anal papillae in females.
Morphological description
Adults
Copablepharon grandis is a medium-sized moth with evenly coloured pale yellow forewings and white hindwings in both sexes (Figure 1). Forewing length varies from 16–20 mm. The forewing is often uniform in colour but may have one or more small dark dots on the subterminal band and dark shading on the margin of the hindwings. There is some geographical variation. Specimens from the Great Basin tend to be smaller than those from the Great Plains, including Canada (Lafontaine, 2004).
Figure 1. Adult and pupal stages of C. grandis:
- adult moth from Strickland Museum collection (captured at Chauvin, AB by B.C. Schmidt). Photo by G.G. Anweiler;
- drawing of pupa from Strickland (1920); note the length of the external proboscis sheath. Image b reproduced with permission;
- group of adult moths captured in Dundurn, SK in 2004 by N.A. Page. Photo by N.A. Page.
Eggs
Strickland (1920) described the eggs of C. grandis as sub-globular and greenish-white with a shallowly wrinkled upper surface and a smooth underside.
Larvae
The larva is light brown with white median and lateral lines. It was described by Strickland (1920) as similar to the red-backed cutworm (Euxoa ochrogaster Guenée) but more lightly pigmented. He noted that a mature larva was 38 mm long. Another noteworthy feature is that the D-1 and D-2 setae are similar in size, unlike those in Euxoa species (Fauske, 1992).
Pupae
The pupa is about 19 mm long with an external sheath (haustellum) enclosing the proboscis which extends 2 mm beyond the apex of the abdomen (Figure 1b). The cremaster is short and smooth, and the terminal setae are straight (Lafontaine, 2004). Pupation occurs in an earthen cell that is similar to that of Euxoa species (Strickland, 1920).
Genetic description
Genetic analysis of C. grandis has not been undertaken as part of the All Leps Barcode of Life project (Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, 2007). Geographical isolation of sandy habitats in the southern Canadian prairies suggests that population-level genetic variation may occur but has not been investigated.
Designatable units
There is no reason to consider this species as existing in more than one designatable unit in Canada or throughout its range.
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