A SUPPOSEDLY COSMOPOLITAN INSECT: THE CELERY WEBWORM AND ALLIES, GENUS NOMOPHILA HÜBNER (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE: PYRAUSTINAE)

Abstract

AbstractThe supposedly cosmopolitan species Nomophila noctuella (Denis and Schiffermüller) is shown to be one of a complex of 12 distinct species, some sympatric, some allopatric, and none ranging over more than three continents. N. noctuella itself has the widest range, extending through most of the Palaearctic and Ethiopian regions, including Madagascar, and into tropical Asia as far as India and Pulo Laut. It also occurs adventively in Hawaii. Two additional endemic species, N. africana n. sp. and N. brevispinalis n. sp., occur in Africa; the Australian species, N. australica n. sp., is endemic but occurs, probably adventively, on Christmas Island. The North American species, N. nearctica n. sp., is distinct from N. noctuella, but, like it, is a migrant and ranges south to northern tropical America. There are six endemic species in South America: N. colombiana n. sp., Colombia; N. heterospila (Meyrick), Andes, transferred from Macronomeutis, which falls as a synonym of Nomophila; N. helvolalis (Maassen), Andes; N. distinctalis n. sp., Peru, Bolivia, and Chile; N. indistinctalis (Walker), central and southern South America; and N. triticalis Berg, Argentina and Paraguay, to which N. squalidalis (Hampson) falls as a synonym. N. incognita Viette, known from a single female from Amsterdam Island, Indian Ocean, is a good species.