A population of Hemileuca maia species complex was observed feeding on Menyanthes trifoliata and Betula pumila. This confirms the presence of a second population of these moths using M. trifoliata in Wisconsin, and is only the fourth known locality for such populations. This is the first report of Hemileuca feeding on B. pumila in Wisconsin. The Hemileuca populations of the Great Lakes region are discussed, and the first map of the distribution of Hemileuca in Wisconsin is provided

Kruse, James J

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Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 31 Number 2 - Summer 1998 Number 2 - Summer 1998 Article 3 June 1998 New Wisconsin Records for a Hemileuca (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) Using Menyanthes Trifoliata (Solanales: Menyanthaceae) and Betula Pumila (Betulaceae) James J. Kruse University of Wisconsin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Kruse, James J. 1998. "New Wisconsin Records for a Hemileuca (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) Using Menyanthes Trifoliata (Solanales: Menyanthaceae) and Betula Pumila (Betulaceae)," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 31 (2) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol31/iss2/3 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1998 109THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST NEW WISCONSIN RECORDS FOR A HEMILEUCA (LEPIDOPTERA: SATURNIIDAEj USING MENYANTHES TRIFOLIATA (SOLANALES: MENYANTHACEAE) AND BETULA PUMILA (BETULACEAE) James J. Kruse 1 ABSTRACT A popUlation of Hemileuca maia species complex was observed feeding on Menyanthes trifoliata and Betula pumila. This confirms the presence of a second population of these m ths using M. trifoliata in Wisconsin, and is only the fourth known locality for such populations. This is the first report of Hemileuca feeding on B. pumila in Wisconsin. The Hemileuca populations of the Great Lakes region are discussed, and the first map of the distribution Hemileuca in Wisconsin is provided. The Hemileuca maia (Drury) species complex in the Great Lakes region consists of two species, H. maia and H. nevadensis (Stretch). Both are consid­ered good species, but are recognized by sparse or unreliable morphological and inconsistent ecological criteria (Ferguson 1971, Covell 1984, Scholtens & Wagner 1994, Legge et aL 1996, Tuskes et al. 1996). In the Great Lakes region, these species come together to produce a confusing array of morphological, eco­logical, and behavioral traits. In addition, Great Lakes populations have not yet been differentiated using molecular techniques (Legge et al. 1996). Hemileuca in the Great Lakes region that demonstrate unique food plant associations are considered imp rtant for two reasons. First, these popula­tions may contai  an unnamed sibling species (Tuskes et al. 1996), or are otherwise phylogenetically distinct and therefore have conservation potential (Legge et al' 1996). Second, allopatric and parapatric juxtaposition of these populations with each other and with nominate H. nevadensis and H. maia, coupled with the recent glaciation of the region, pose several challenging op­portunities for studies in biogeography, gene flow, and evolution. With these prospects in mind, a survey of known and potential H mileuca sites was un­dertaken in order to confirm previously known populations and to discover new populations in Wisconsin, a state previously not included in recent Great Lakes Hemileuca complex research projects. MATERIALS AND METHODS To identify known populations of Hemileuca in Wisconsin, specimens and collection records were examined at the University of Wisconsin Insect Re­lDepartment of Entomology, University of Wisconsin. Current address: Division of Insect Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720. E-mail: kruse@nature.berkeley.edu. 1Kruse: New Wisconsin Records for a <i>Hemileuca</i> (Lepidoptera: SaturnPublished by ValpoScholar, 1998110 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 31, No.2 search Collection, the Wisconsin Entomological Society (WES), and personal collections. Known Wisconsin localities (Dane, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Marquette, Monroe, Ozaukee, and Portage counties) and suspected localities (Forest, Lincoln, and Marinette counties) were surveyed for Hemileuca during 1995 for adults, and/or in spring 1996 for larvae. Localities that were suspected of supporting Hemileuca populations contained vast acreage of suitable upland willow (Salix), wetland willow, or swamp birch (Betula pumila L.) wetlands. RESULTS On 9 June 1996, a population ofH. maia species complex was discovered feeding on B. pumila and the aquatic herb Menyanthes trifoliata (L.) at a small, privately owned bog in Northwestern Marquette Co., Wisconsin. Greater than 100 larval clusters were concentrated at the southern edge of the bog. The majority of larvae were in the first ins tar, and were feeding in equal proportions on M. trifoliata and B. pumila. This is only the fourth lo­cality for Hemileuca known to feed on M. trifoliata. The only other popula­tion known in Wisconsin is found at Cedarburg Bog, Ozaukee Co. (Season Summary 1991). Additional populations feeding on M. trifoliata are previ­ously known from Ottawa, Ontario and the southeast shore of Lake Ontario in New York (Season Summary 1985, Legge et al. 1996, Tuskes et al. 1996). Populations feeding on B. pumila are previously known from Northwestern New Jersey, Michigan, and Ottawa, Ontario (Season Summary 1985, Scholtens & Wagner 1994, Tuskes et al. 1996). This is the first report of Hemileuca feeding on B. pumila in Wisconsin. Three larval clusters were collected from he Marquette Co. site. Larvae were easily transferred from M. trifoliata to Salix exigua (Nutt.) and reared to adulthood. Voucher specimens have b en deposited in the University of Wisconsin Insect Research Collection, with additional specimens retained i  the author's collection. The presence of Hemileuca populations was confirmed in Douglas and Marquette counties during the survey period, and populations in Juneau, Monroe, Ozaukee, Portage, and Washburn counties have been confirmed within the last five years according to WES records and personal collection data. No previous records of Hemileuca exist, nor was any evidence of Hemileuca populations found in Forest, Lincoln, and Marinette counties, de­spite extensive tracts of apparently suitable habitat. DISCUSSION Reticulation events and genetic introgression between Hemil uca species in the Great Lakes region may be a source of confounding phylogenetic char­acters (Tuskes et al. 1996). Evidence of intermediacy that is attributable to hybridization alrea y exists in the literature for these moths. For example, Legge et al. (1996) found that an Ohio population fed equivalently on oak (Quercus) and willow (Salix). Scholtens & Wagner (1997) found that much of Michigan is a clinal zone between H. maia in Ohio and Great Lakes popula­tions to the north. Further study may reveal a hybrid zone through s gnifi­cant portions of the entire Great Lakes region. A variety of observations, including food plant (Salix) and the association with wetland habitats, are consistent with the inference that the Great Lakes populations are derived from H. nevadensis (Tuskes et al. 1996). How­2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 31, No. 2 [1998], Art. 3https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol31/iss2/3THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST1998 III ever, host plants and habitats are not distinctive and do not, as once hought, serve to identify populations (Scholtens & Wagner 1997). Scholtens & Wag­ner (1994) found that populations in Michigan fed upon plants spanning the entire range of all Northeastern Hemileuca species. Of particular interest, food plants such as M. trifoliata and B. pumila used in the Great Lakes re­gion are unique to all recognized memb rs of the H. maia species group. The uniqueness of M. trifoliata as a food plant of some Hemileuca popu­lations was reported by Legge et al. (1996) as an ecologically significant dif­ference betw en those populations that feed upon it during early larval de­velopment and those that do not. Only larvae adapted to M. trifoliata can survive on that plant (Legge et al. 1996), yet populations that feed on M. tri­foliata have been found in the wild concurrently feeding on B. pumila, Spi­raea alba (Duroi), and Salix sp. in Ottawa (Season Summary 1985), Salix candida (Fluegge) in Ozaukee County, WI (L. Ferge, pers. comm.), and B. pumila in Marquette County, WI, even in the early instars. The ability of a Great Lakes population to feed on an introduced weed, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) in Jefferson Co., WI (R. Henderson, pers. comm.), demonstrates an adaptive ability or plasticity of Great Lakes Hemileuca, and ultimately of the com ex. Indeed, Hemileuca must have been able to take advantage of novel . g opportunities to survive and spread into inter­glacial and the post-glacial Great L kes region. Most Wisconsin populations are clustered in the lake bed of old Glacial Lake Wisconsin near the center of the state (Fig. 1.). Wetland drainage by humans has probably caused further population contraction in most popu­lations over the last 200 years. Conservation of this group would best be re­alized by more widespread and general wetland preservation efforts. Pro­tecting peatlands as well as other wetlands where Great Lakes Hemileuca occur would help conserve ot only the environmental systems, but the evo­lutionary processes that are likely to generate future evolutionary diver­sity. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Field work and rearing was supported by a McIntire-Stennis grant to K. Raffa, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the University of Wisconsin College of Agricu tural and Life Sciences, and a grant from the California Agriculture Experiment Station to F. Sperling. The author was supported by an NSF-PEET grant to F. Sperling and J. Powell during prepa­ration of this paper. L. Ferge, Wisconsin Entomological Society, S. Krauth, University of Wisconsin Insect Research Collection, and T. Rocheleau con­tributed data and allowed examination of specimens. I tha k D. Owen for permission to inve tigate her sightings of adult Hemileuca n NW Marquette County in the fall of 1995. I thank K. Katovich for a copy of the Wisconsin map template that he constructed, and M.C. Nielsen, B. Scholtens and F.A.H. Sperling for reviewing a draft of the manuscript. LITERATURE CITED Covell, C.v. 1984. A Field Guide to the Moths of Eas ern North America. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Ferguson, D.C. 1971. Fasc. 20.2A, Bombycoidea (in part). In: Dominick, RB. et al. eds. The Moths of North America North of Mexico, Fasc. 20.2A, Bombycoidea (in part). Classey, London. z?' 3Kruse: New Wisconsin Records for a <i>Hemileuca</i> (Lepidoptera: SaturnPublished by ValpoScholar, 1998112 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 31, No.2 Figure 1. Distribution of Hemileuca in Wisconsin. Circles denote counties containing Hemileuca populations, squares denote Hemileuca populations that are known to feed on Menyanthes trifoliata. Legge, J.T., R. Roush, R. DeSalle, A.P. Vogler & B. May. 1996. Genetic criteria for es­tablishing evolutionarily significant units in Cryan's buckmoth. Cons. BioI. 10:85-98. Scholtens, B.G & W.H. Wagner Jr. 1994. Biology of the genus Hemil uca Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in Michigan. Great Lakes Entomol. 27:197-207. __. 1997. An example of elinal variation in eastern North American buckmoths (Sat­urniidae: Hemileuca). J. Lepid. Soc. 51:47-56. Season Summary of the News of the Lepidopterists' Society. 1985. p. 26. 1991. p. 31. Tuskes, P.M., J.P. Tuttle & M.M. Collins. 1996. The Wild Silk Moths of North America. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, N.Y. 4The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 31, No. 2 [1998], Art. 3https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol31/iss2/3

New Wisconsin Records for a \u3ci\u3eHemileuca\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) Using \u3ci\u3eMenyanthes Trifoliata\u3c/i\u3e (Solanales: Menyanthaceae) and \u3ci\u3eBetula Pumila\u3c/i\u3e (Betulaceae)

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1954&amp;context=tgle

New Wisconsin Records for a \u3ci\u3eHemileuca\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) Using \u3ci\u3eMenyanthes Trifoliata\u3c/i\u3e (Solanales: Menyanthaceae) and \u3ci\u3eBetula Pumila\u3c/i\u3e (Betulaceae)

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