Hemileuca maia maia Drury (1773)

Pavulaan, Harry, 2020, A phenotypic comparison of regional populations of Hemileuca maia (Drury, 1773) with designations of new subspecies (Bombycoidea, Saturniidae, Hemileucinae)., The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey 8 (5), pp. 1-17 : 4

Hemileuca maia maia Drury (1773)

Coastal Barrens Buckmoth

The nominotypical taxon ( Figs. 1 , 2 & 3 ) was described from New York and determined to most likely originate in the Pitch Pine Barrens region of eastern Long Island. Common name Coastal Barrens Buckmoth (for Hemileuca maia ssp. 5) per New York Natural Heritage Program (2020) and NatureServe Explorer (2020) which reflects its limited distribution in coastal Pitch Pine Barrens habitat in southeastern New England and on Long Island, N.Y.

Type locality: Neotype male: Oct. 21, 2017, Long Island Avenue, north of Deer Park train station , Edgewood, Suffolk County, New York, leg. H. Pavulaan ( Pavulaan, 2020). Neotype is deposited in the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity, Gainesville, FL . [5 additional male and 5 female specimens (Westhampton, Suffolk Co., N. Y.) analyzed in this study are deposited in the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity, Gainesville, FL.; additional specimens remain in the author s collection.]

Range: Confined to eastern Long Island, New York ( Fig. 16 ). Most frequently observed in the Westhampton Dwarf Pine Plains Preserve and in the Edgewood Oak Brush Plains Preserve. Additional populations are in southeastern New England, Cape Cod, Martha s Vineyard and Nantucket, which are of the same phenotype, are often referred to as the same taxon.

Habitat: Primarily pitch pine barrens, scrub oak plains and maritime shrublands or sandplains where the hostplant Quercus ilicifolia abounds. Selfridge et al. (2007) state that H. maia is restricted to remnant Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine) / Quercus ilicifolia (Scrub Oak) habitat in the northeastern United States. This habitat is becoming more fragmented and threatened by multiple factors, thus bringing conservation attention to the nominotypical subspecies. Fire suppression in the fire-dependent habitat is a threat and requires considerable management considerations.

Flight period: NY (Long Island): Oct. 4 28. Southeastern New England: Sept. 27 Oct. 25.

Hosts: Quercus ilicifolia (Scrub Oak) on Long Island, N.Y., Plymouth County, MA. and Martha s Vineyard, MA. Also on Quercus prinoides (Dwarf Chinquapin Oak) . Haggerty (2006) reared larvae on Q. alba (White Oak) and Q. stellata (Post Oak) . Larvae are known to wander to additional, non- Quercus , hosts in the later instars, such as Salix (Willow sp.) and Populus (Aspen sp.) (NatureServe Explorer, 2020). In Edgewood, N.Y., I have found them frequently on Prunus serotina (Black Cherry) in July. In West Greenwich, R.I., I once found a clutch of first instar larvae on P. serotina but could not locate an egg ring to confirm oviposition on that host.

Description: Male FW length 21-28 mm., female FW length 28-30 mm. The smallest of all maia populations. Forewings slightly more rounded than other subspecies as described. Wings generally with a variable dark gray appearance, darker toward the outer margin, and highly translucent (thinly-scaled) [text can be read through the wings when placed against the wings]. Median bands primarily white with a bare hint of yellow tint in some specimens. The forewing band directly intersects the discal streak which usually breaks the band into two segments in most examined specimens. The posterior portion of the median band may be partially faded in many individuals. Females are more uniformly gray than males, and have a distinct black wing margin. The Long Island, N.Y. population has larvae characterized by having a distinct yellow lateral line.

Figures

Fig. 1. Hemileuca maia maia Drury (1773). Neotype. Oct. 21, 2017, Edgewood, Long Island, N. Y. Leg. H. Pavulaan Male. Dorsal view.

Fig. 3. Hemileuca maia sandra Pavulaan (2020). Holotype. Chatsworth, Woodland Township, Burlington Co., N.J., leg. I. Osipov.

Fig. 16. Documented range of Hemileuca maia Drury (1773) and subspecies.