The most northerly Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata): a tropical moth in the Canadian Arctic

Authors

  • Torbjørn Ekrem Department of Natural History, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) University Museum, NO-7491 Trondheim
  • Peter G. Kevan Canadian Pollination Initiative, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1
  • Thomas S. Woodcock Canadian Pollination Initiative, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1
  • Paul D. N. Hebert Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v128i1.1554

Keywords:

Black Witch, Mariposa de la muerte, Ascalapha odorata, DNA barcoding, distribution, genetic divergence, migratory, migration, Manitoba

Abstract

A specimen of the Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata) was collected in August 2006 near Churchill, Manitoba, at 58.7652°N. This represents the most northerly record for this species. DNA barcode comparison of 93 specimens of A. odorata in the Barcode of Life Data Systems revealed low genetic divergence even though these specimens were collected from a large geographical area. The haplotype of the Churchill specimen was shared by only one other individual (collected in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico) in the Barcode of Life Data Systems. A definite assignment of the geographic origin of the Churchill specimen is not possible with current data, but more extensive analysis of Central American populations with additional genetic markers might resolve this uncertainty.

Downloads

Published

2014-03-26

Issue

Vol. 128 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Notes

License

Copyright for Canadian Field-Naturalist content is held by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, except for content published by employees of federal government departments, in which case the copyright is held by the Crown. In-copyright content available at the Biodiversity Heritage Library is available for re-use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. For usage of content at the BHL for purposes other than those allowed under this licence, contact us.

 

To request use of copyright material,  please contact our editor, Dr. Dwayne Lepitzki: editor -at- canadianfieldnaturalist -dot- ca