Noctua pronuba in USA

Joseph G. Kunkel joe at bio.umass.edu
Thu Jan 14 20:55:52 EST 1999


Jonathan II,

Correction.

_Noctua pronuba_ is not that new a phenomenon.

I first collected _Noctua pronuba_ in large numbers in 1993 while on
sabbatical in Woods Hole MA.  It was the most abundant species caught in
a Robinson trap for most of the late Summer and Fall.  I thus doubt that
it could have entered North America around 1994.  An earlier respondent
(Gary Anweiler) reports the introduction from Lafontaine's MONA Noctuini
volume to have been in 1979 in Halifax.  I was puzzled not finding this
prominent noctuid moth in any field guides considering its large size,
pleasingly orange hind wings and polymorphic forewings.

The lab I was working in was directed by a Scottish transplant who, it
just so happened, had bought an antique moth cabinet in Cambridge
England with specimens in situ.  While he was more interested in micros,
this collection of macros contained a labeled specimen of _N. pronuba_. 
I was delighted with this chance identification of my unknown which I
confirmed using continental handbooks.

The 1979 Canadian introduction date seems more reasonable to me
considering the abundance I observed in Massachusetts in 1993.

Cheers,
Joe Kunkel  

NJMoth at the.light wrote:
> 
> In response to Jonathan (I am also Jonathan!) and any others out there
> with questions about this species: It is an introduced Old World
> (Palearctic) species, which was purportedly first introduced in Canada
> about 1994 or so,  ...
-- 
--------------------
Joseph G. Kunkel, Professor
Biology Department             joe at bio.umass.edu
University of Massachusetts    http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel
Amherst MA 01003


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