FNZ 49 - Lithinini (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) - Materials and methods
Weintraub, JD; Scoble, MJ 2004. Lithinini (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae). Fauna of New Zealand 49, 48 pages.
(
ISSN 0111-5383 (print),
;
no.
49.
ISBN 0-478-09357-8 (print),
).
Published 29 Apr 2004
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/C171A227-BFE7-4AB7-AB6A-C84DF57A6013
Materials and methods
Preserved specimens of adult moths from a number of major entomological collections were studied. Male and female genitalia were prepared for dissection by immersion overnight in a 10% solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH), or occasionally by brief immersion in 10% KOH heated in a water bath. Cleared material was cleaned and rinsed in distilled water, then transferred via a series of increasingly concentrated aqueous ethanol dilutions up to 70% ethanol. In dissections of males, the aedeagus was removed by gently prising it free from the enclosing membrane. A small syringe was then used to evert the vesica; see Hardwick (1950) for a detailed description of dissection/mounting technique employed for Lepidoptera genitalia. Preparations were mounted in Euparal on microscope slides. Genitalia were examined and photographed under a binocular dissecting microscope. /p>
Detailed data on collecting locality, date of capture, and any ecological notes were transcribed from specimen labels and compiled in a computer database using the program Microsoft Excel© (version 2.2). Summaries of these data were organised for each species, including: (1) geographical distribution by region, using areas as described by Crosby et al. (1976, 1998); and (2) phenology, based on dates of capture for adults.
The collections consulted (with associated acronyms) are as follows:
AMNH American Museum of Natural History, New York, U.S.A.
AMNZ Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland, New Zealand
BMNH Natural History Museum, London, U.K. (formerly British Museum (Natural History))
BPBM Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, U.S.A.
BPNZ Brian Patrick collection, Dunedin, New Zealand (now in Otago Museum, Dunedin)
CMNH Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.
CMNZ Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand
FRNZ Forest Research, Rotorua, New Zealand
MONZ Museum of New Zealand (formerly National Museum), Wellington, New Zealand
NZAC New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
OMNZ Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Additional records from LUNZ (Lincoln University, Canterbury) were added to the maps after completion of the main study