Keegan, Kevin L. ， Wagner, David L.
2022-09-01 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS SOCIETY 2022 76(卷), 3(期), (175-182页)
Stiria comprises a group of 14 North American noctuid species that has radiated across the desert and dryland communities of Mexico and the southwestern United States. Stiria caterpillars are hostplant specialists, generally feeding on the flowers and seeds of a single or closely related species within the Asteraceae tribe Heliantheae. Their larvae exemplify the power of natural selection to shape and mold larval phenotypes across instars to match the developmental changes of their host flowers. We infer a preliminary molecular phylogeny for Stiria, describe Stiria brava sp. nov. from West Texas, and report six new larval hostplant associations for the genus. Identity of S. brava can reliably be determined by external adult morphology and COI haplotypes-but neither male or female genitalia provide definitive diagnostic features (across the genus). Larvae of S. brava are specialists on Jefea brevifolia. The adult, male and female genitalia, and larval stages are described and illustrated.