FNZ 54 - Hierodoris (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Oecophoridae) - Methods and conventions
Hoare, RJB 2005. Hierodoris (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Gelechoidea: Oecophoridae), and overview of Oecophoridae. Fauna of New Zealand 54, 100 pages.
(
ISSN 0111-5383 (print),
;
no.
54.
ISBN 0-478-09378-0 (print),
).
Published 24 Dec 2005
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/58787BD7-116F-42F4-B565-26BE1BC948AD
Methods and conventions
Collection
Most Hierodoris species can been taken, usually in small numbers, at light after dark, and a strong light such as that produced by a 125W mercury vapour bulb is the only method by which some species (e.g. H. huia, H. tygris) have been collected. However, almost all species have well-developed ocelli, which is a characteristic of moths with diurnal habits, and many can be found flying by day in sunshine. This is especially true of the South Island inhabitants of open habitats, e.g., H. frigida, H. gerontion, H. polita.
Rearing
Species with larvae feeding on plant foliage or seedheads (e.g., H. atychioides, H. pachystegiae, H. eremita) can be reared indoors in closed plastic containers, as long as an eye is kept open for mould. Internal feeders (e.g., H. callispora, H. illita) are more difficult, but callispora has been successfully reared by planting twigs containing the larval galls in a pot of damp peat, and tying a spacious transparent plastic bag over the top. Again, a watch must be kept out for mould, and muslin or nylon stocking can be substituted for the plastic bag if mould appears. Hierodoris illita has also been reared by placing Coriaria twigs containing larvae on tissue in a closed plastic container.
Specimen preparation
Moths collected for this study by the author were usually killed in ammonia and the wings spread on balsa-wood setting boards, using a ‘setting bristle’ to brace the wings as they were moved into position, and strips of tracing paper to hold them in place, following the method described, e.g., by Sokoloff (1980). Ammonia can alter the orange hindwing colour of species such as H. illita, and these species should preferably be placed in a freezer overnight or killed with another agent such as ethyl acetate.
Preparation of slides of genitalia followed the methods described by Hoare (2000) for Nepticulidae, except that the valvae of males were spread in the usual manner for microlepidoptera (e.g., Robinson 1976). Wing venation preparations followed the methods described by Common (1990). Larvae were preserved and examined whole in 70% ethanol, and pupal exuviae either dry or immersed in glycerol.
Identification
Most specimens of Hierodoris can easily be identified to species by comparison with the colour figures provided here (Fig. 1–42). In cases of uncertainty, the identification can be checked by running the specimen through the key to adults (p. 22), or by consulting the descriptions and diagnoses. For the similar species pairs frigida / polita and electrica / s-fractum, line drawings are provided with pointers to diagnostic features (Fig. 183–186). In the case of very worn or aberrant specimens, it may be necessary to dissect out the genitalia and compare with the genitalia figures.
Drawings: conventions
The male genital capsule is shown in ventral view, with the left valva omitted. The lateral arm of the vinculum/saccus is shown on the left side, but omitted on the right so as not to obscure the base of the valva. The valva in Hierodoris, as in most Lepidoptera, is clothed in numerous setae; these have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of simplicity. Generally some of the posterior part of the juxta comes away with the aedeagus when the latter is removed from the genital capsule, so most drawings only show the most sclerotised portion of the basal plate, together with the lateral arms. The area of striated cuticle between the lateral arm of the gnathos and the tegumen is shown semi-diagrammatically as a dense stippling of small dashes.
In the drawings of the aedeagus, the bulbus ejaculatorius (sensu Oiticica 1946) is shown, but the ductus ejaculatorius is usually omitted, as the course of this inside the bulbus is hard to discern in most slide preparations.
In preparations of the female genitalia, the ductus and especially the corpus bursae usually become somewhat distorted and wrinkled when dehydrated, especially if the corpus bursae has been pierced in order to remove the spermatophore. Thus not too much reliance should be placed on the shape of these structures as drawn. The ductus spermathecae has been shown separately for purposes of clarity.
Stippling in all drawings is intended to give a rough indication of opacity and/or degree of sclerotisation of structures; however, in the ductus and corpus bursae of the female genitalia, stippling represents the small scobinations with which these structures are beset. The scobinations are generally finer, more numerous and more close-set than could be indicated in the drawings, so the representation should be treated as semi-diagrammatic.
The drawings of genitalia are intended to complement the descriptions and aid in the identification of worn or aberrant specimens. As such, they show characters of diagnostic importance at the species level. They cannot be guaranteed to show all structures of relevance for a phylogenetic analysis, and should not be used in isolation for such a purpose.
Repository of specimens and label data
The following acronyms are used for collections where specimens are held:
AMNZ: Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand
BMNH: British Museum (Natural History), London, England
CMNZ: Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand
LUNZ: Entomology Research Museum, Lincoln University, New Zealand
MONZ: Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
NHNZ: Neville Hudson private collection, Auckland, New Zealand
NZAC: New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand
OMNZ: Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand
Data for primary types are quoted exactly, the data on each label being enclosed in single inverted commas, and labels being separated by commas. Other label data are given as far as possible in standard format. The following abbreviations are used for names of frequently mentioned collectors: AP, Alfred Philpott; BHP, Brian H. Patrick; GVH, George V. Hudson; JSD, John S. Dugdale; RJBH, Robert J. B. Hoare.
Species concept and order
The species concept adopted here is a morphological one, i.e., I have treated as separate species only those entities showing constant and easily definable morphological differences, with particular weight being given to genitalic characters (cf. Scoble et al. 1995). No problems have been encountered in defining species boundaries on this basis, except in the case of 2 very widespread and extremely variable species, H. atychioides and H. illita. In the case of these species, I have adopted a conservative approach, as recently advocated for bird taxonomy by Zink (2004), who emphasises the need for multiple congruent characters to define taxa. For further discussion of these species and their synonymy, see the Remarks under the respective species descriptions.
The order of species has been determined on the following basis: the type species is treated first; within their species groups, species that are clearly closely related are grouped together; otherwise alphabetical order is followed.
Plant names
Scientific names of plants follow the New Zealand Plants (2004) website. The authorities for plant names are omitted in the main text, but listed in Appendix 2.