Nolidae

62. Nolidae

The North American nolids are small (15–25 mm wingspan), mostly drab moths with variously shaped wings, although some topical groups are large and colorful, and very unlike temperate region species (see for example Holloway 2003). Th is group has been variously assigned to its own family or treated as a subfamily within the Noctuidae or the former Arctiidae (Kitching and Rawlins 1999) due to uncertain affinities of several unique structural traits. Recent molecular data shows that there is no support for including them within either the Erebidae or Noctuidae (Zahiri et al. in press), although a re-evaluation of morphological traits suggests they may be closer to the trifid Noctuidae (Fibiger et al. 2009), a position not refuted by the molecular evidence. They are well-defined as a group by a number of unique structural traits, including a boatshaped, double walled cocoon with a vertical exit slit.

Approximately 1400 species of Nolidae are known worldwide. Th ey are most diverse in the Paleotropics. Th ere are currently 40 species in 10 genera in North America, excluding a number of undescribed species (BCS, unpubl. data); four species occur in AB. The genera Nycteola (Fletcher 1959; Rindge 1961) and Baileya (Brou 2004) have been revised. A few species are pests of cotton and sorghum. Adults of the genus Arcyophora feed on the tears of livestock and have been implicated in the transmission of viruses and infections.

62.1 Nolinae

Most nolines are small moths (̴ 20 mm wingspan), often with patches of raised scales on the forewings, bearing superficial resemblance to some lichen moth (Arctiinae: Lithosiini) lineages. Larvae of some genera have the unusual behaviour of stacking cast head capsules on top of the current head capsule. Of the 20 species in North America, only one occurs in AB.

1721 R Nola cilicoides (Grote, 1873) L Jun – L Aug – B g L: Bowman (1951) C: CNC, NFRC, OLDS, UASM

62.2 Chloephorinae

This subfamily includes a structurally and phylogenetically diverse number of nolid groups, loosely defined by the presence of tymbal (sound-producing) organs at the base of the abdomen. In North America the subfamily is however represented only by the tribe Sarrothripini, of which the genus Nycteola is typical. Recent molecular results show that the Sarrothripini likely did not derive from within the Chloephorinae (Za- hiri et al. in press), and the classification within the nolids will undoubtedly change. Only two Nycteola species occur in AB.