John W. Brown

This study presents an updated and detailed inventory of the tortricid tribe Eucosmini found in Taiwan Province, China, highlighting 26 genera and 53 species. Several taxonomic novelties were revealed: The genus Coenobiodes is newly recorded for Taiwan Province, Hermenias semicurva is newly reported for China, and six species are newly recorded for Taiwan. Most Eucosmini species in Taiwan are widespread in eastern Asia and/or the Palearctic, but 12 (23%) are endemic to Taiwan. Biogeographical distributions are provided for each species, and a list of the specimens examined is provided where applicable. These findings underscore Taiwan’s status as a biodiversity hotspot and offer crucial data for understanding regional and global biodiversity patterns.

We present an annotated list of 109 Tortricidae from Honduras. Seventy of them represent described species whereas the remaining 39 were unidentified or undescribed specimens identified only to genus. All but 12 of these taxa are reported from Honduras for the first time. The list is based on personal collecting experiences, examination of institutional research collections, a review of relevant literature, and images posted on iNaturalist. Where known, we provide summaries of host plants and relevant geographic distributions.

Cultivated blueberries ( Vaccinium spp.) (Ericaceae) are among the top three exported agricultural commodities of Mexico. Since their commercial debut in 1995, the area of cultivation has increased annually, reflecting the economic importance of this crop. Because species of the moth family Tortricidae associated with blueberries elsewhere are of considerable economic importance, we investigated the tortricid fauna of commercial blueberry plantations in the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, and Puebla, Mexico. From 2019 to 2021 we collected and reared tortricid larvae and noted the damage they inflicted. We identified six species feeding on leaves, flowers, and/or fruit: Amorbia cuneana (Walsingham) , Argyrotaenia montezumae (Walsingham) , Platynota stultana (Walsingham), Templemania sarothrura (Felder & Rogenhofer), Bonagota mexicana (Razowski & Becker), and Zomaria interruptolineana (Fernald). The first three are well-known agricultural pests of numerous crops, and are widely distributed throughout southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico; T. sarothrura and B. mexicana are polyphagous native species that are encountered uncommonly; and Z . interruptolineana is a documented Ericaceae-feeder that is widespread in the eastern U.S. For all but Zomaria , these are the first records of Vaccinium as hosts for these tortricids. We suggest that is important to monitor population levels of these species owing to their potential economic importance, and to expand sampling to other producer states to evaluate their levels of infestation.

Seven new genera in the tortricid subtribe Euliina (Cochylini) are described and illustrated from Chile and Argentina: Argentiliana, new genus, and its type species A. basipallida, new species; Terifrona, new genus, and its type species T. fronteria, new species; Transtilliana, new genus, and its type species T. biloba, new species; Vargasia, new genus, and its type species V. karsholti, new species; Hamiamia, new genus, and its type species H. trancasiana (Razowski & Pelz, 2010), new combination; Endemulia, new genus, and its type species E. urrai, new species; and Silenoides, new genus, and its type species, S. divergens, new species. The following new species are also described and illustrated: Varifula geomops, new species; Proeulia hasta, new species; Proeulia razowskii, new species; Strophotina samara, new species; Gnatheulia flava, new species; Paratepa argentinana, new species; Galomecalpa decolorana, new species; and Archipimima clarkei, new species. All but Archipimima are assigned to Euliina; Archipimima is assigned to Atteriini. Cnephasia clisias Meyrick and C. dryoglypta Meyrick are transferred to Paratepa, resulting in Paratepa clisias (Meyrick, 1912), new combination, and P. dryoglypta (Meyrick, 1913), new combination. The adult and female genitalia of Chapoania dentigera Razowski are illustrated for the first time. A preliminary comparison of the Argentine and Chilean tortricid faunas is provided.

The soybean bud borer, a soybean pest in Brazil, was initially identified as Crocidosema aporema (Walsingham 1914) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Outbreaks of this species have recently increased, but identification of this pest remains uncertain, and the historical factors associated with its geographic distribution in Brazil are little known. Here, we conducted a species characterization and phylogeographic analysis based on molecular and morphological evidence. Ninety individuals of bud-borers Lepidoptera were collected in different regions of Brazil. We sequenced COI and COII mitochondrial genes and examined wing patterns and male genital morphology. DNA barcoding approach revealed that 10 individuals were Argyrotaenia sphaleropa (Meyrick 1909) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and 80 were a species of the genus Crocidosema Zeller. The morphology of the adult genitalia and wings proved to be insufficient to confirm the identification of Brazilian individuals as C. aporema, a species originally described from a high-elevation site in Costa Rica. Furthermore, the genetic distance between putative C. aporema specimens from Brazil and Costa Rica (ranging from 5.2% to 6.4%) supports the hypothesis that the Brazilian specimens are not referable to C. aporema. Our analysis revealed a single genetic strain (i.e., species) with low genetic diversity on soybean crops. We found no indication that the genetic structure was related to geographic distance among populations or edaphoclimatic regions. The population expansion of the soybean bud borer coincides with the increase in the area of soybean production in Brazil, suggesting that expanded soybean farming has allowed a significant increase in the effective population size of this pest.

The hyperdiverse geometrid genus Eois Hübner, estimated to encompass more than 1,000 species, is among the most species-rich genera in all of Lepidoptera. While the genus has attracted considerable attention from ecologists and evolutionary biologists in recent decades, limited progress has been made on its alpha taxonomy. This contribution focuses on the Olivacea clade, whose monophyly has been recognized previously through molecular analyses. We attempt to define the clade from a morphological perspective and recognize the following species based on morphology and genomic data: E. olivacea (Felder & Rogenhofer); E. pseudolivacea Doan, sp. nov.; E. auruda (Dognin), stat. rev.; E. beebei (Fletcher, 1952), stat. rev.; E. boliviensis (Dognin), stat. rev.; and E. parumsimii Doan, sp. nov. Descriptions and illustrations of the immature stages of E. pseudolivacea reared from Piper (Piperaceae) in Ecuador are provided.

Forest fires in North America are becoming larger in area and burning with higher severity as a result of climate change and land management practices. High-severity, stand-replacement fires can inflict major changes to forest insect communities, potentially extirpating many species through altered post-fire habitat resources. We assessed forest-dwelling macrolepidopteran moth communities in mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests during the first year after the 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, USA. We deployed blacklight traps in replicated burned and unburned stands during June, July, and August in 2012. We collected 9,478 individuals, representing 211 species and 8 families. Noctuidae (124 species) and Geometridae (53) comprised the majority of the taxa, followed by Erebidae (21), Sphingidae (5), Notodontidae (3), Lasiocampidae (2), Saturniidae (2), and Drepanidae (1). Moth communities (species composition and abundances) in each forest type (mixed conifer vs. ponderosa pine) were statistically distinguishable, but shared 56.4% (119) of observed species. Overall, compared to unburned forests, post-fire moth communities in both forest types had significantly lower numbers of individuals, species richness and diversity, and lower evenness in ponderosa pine forests. As expected, categorizing moth taxa by larval host plant taxa revealed that reductions of moth populations following fire were associated with the elimination or reduction of available larval host plants (particularly conifers, oaks, and junipers). We predict that future moth community succession will likely parallel the overall transformation from a forested landscape to a montane meadow/grassland ecosystem, with continued reduction in tree-feeding species and increasing dominance by forb/grass-feeding species.

The leaf‐roller moth tribe Grapholitini comprises about 1200 described species and contains numerous notorious pests of fruits and seeds. The phylogeny of the tribe has been little studied using contemporary methods, and the monophyly of several genera remains questionable. In order to provide a more robust phylogenetic framework for the group, we conducted a multiple‐gene phylogenetic analysis of 104 species representing 27 genera of Grapholitini and 29 outgroup species. Divergence time, ancestral area, and host plant usage were also inferred to explore evolutionary trends in the tribe. Our analyses indicate that Larisa and Corticivora, traditionally assigned to Grapholitini, are best excluded from the tribe. After removal of these two genera, the tribe is found to be monophyletic, represented by two major lineages—a Dichrorampha clade and a Cydia clade, the latter of which can be divided into seven generic groups. The genus Grapholita was found to be polyphyletic, comprising three different clades, and we propose three genera to accommodate these groups: Grapholita (sensu stricto), Aspila (formerly a subgenus of Grapholita) and Ephippiphora (formerly considered a synonym of Grapholita). We summarize each generic group, including related genera not included in our analysis, providing morphological, pheromone and food plant characters that support particular branches within the molecular hypotheses. Biogeographical analyses indicate that Grapholitini probably originated in the Nearctic, Afrotropical and Neotropical regions in the Lutetian of the middle Eocene (ca. 44.3 Ma). Our results also indicate that most groups in Grapholitini originated from Fabaceae‐feeding monophagous or oligophagous ancestors, and that host plant shifts probably promoted species diversification within the tribe.

Gibbalaria Brown and Aarvik, new genus, is described to accommodate the following species: G. divergana Brown and Aarvik, new species (TL: South Africa); G. occidentana Brown and Aarvik, new species (TL: South Africa); G. chiloanei Brown and Aarvik, new species (TL: South Africa); G. scabellana Zeller, 1852, new combination (TL: South Africa); G. mabalingwae Razowski, 2008, status revised, new combination (TL: South Africa); G. longiphallus Brown and Aarvik, new species (TL: South Africa); G. bagamoyo (Razowski & Wojtusiak, 2014), new combination (TL: Tanzania); and G. analcis (Razowski, 2015), new combination (TL: Republic of Cameroon). Gibbalaria sistrata (Meyrick, 1911), new combination (TL: South Africa), is synonymized with G. scabellana, new synonymy. Although the male genitalia of Gibbalaria form two moderately divergent groups, the two groups share extremely similar female genitalia, which feature a broad, somewhat cylindrical antrum, followed immediately anterad by a conspicuously elbowed region of the ductus bursae forming a weak diverticulum on the left side, and a signum in the form of a patch of small arrowhead-shaped sclerites, usually with a shallow pocket. Male genitalia morphology shows many similarities with the Neopotamia group (Olethreutini), Afroploce Aarvik in particular. The monophyly of Gibbalaria is supported by the raised, curled, opalescent scales on the forewing in both sexes, which occurs in a few other genera scattered through the subfamily (e.g., Thylacandra Diakonoff in Grapholitini; Astronauta Diakonoff and Cosmopoda Diakonoff in Olethreutini); the angled diverticulum in the ductus bursae in the female genitalia; the subrectangular flange from the lower margin of the valva immediately basal to the cucullus; and the setose, protruding ridge immediate above the basal cavity, which appears to be homologous with the subbasal process of the valva in many members of the Neopotamia group of genera. In addition, Diakonoffiana graziani Razowski, 2015 (TL: Republic of Cameroon) is transferred to Cosmopoda Diakonoff, resulting in C. graziani (Razowski), new combination.