1 Topic by charliebarnes

  • charliebarnes
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  • Registered: 07-09-2008
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Topic: Diachrysia chrysitis f. juncta

Hi Chris

Can you add Diachrysia chrysitis f. juncta?

I'm aware of (old, 5+ years) discussions regarding this species and related ones, but I haven't kept up so I don't know if this is still an "okay" taxon (that will probably be synonymized in the future) or whether it needs synonymized now with something else. Perhaps one of the lepidopterists can chip in?

Charlie Barnes
Information Officer
Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

charliebarnes's Website

2 Reply by nmrs

  • nmrs
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Re: Diachrysia chrysitis f. juncta

Hi Charlie,

The 3rd Edition of Waring, Townsend and Lewington now names f. juncta as f. tutti and explains in some detail the suggested differences between D. chrysitis f. tutti and D. stenochrysis (which are IMHO very subjective) which is still yet to be confirmed for the British list. The NMRS only reports D. chrysitis to the specific, ignoring the form names.

However, I suspect if-and-when D. stenochrysis is confirmed as British, confusion and conjecture will arise and for many specimens it won't be possible to separate D. chrysitis f. tutti and D. stenochrysis in the field thus requiring an aggregate.

Colin W. Plant, the Hertfordshire County Moth Recorder has written a couple of lengthy notes in the Entomologist's Record re D. chrysitis and D. stenochrysis which goes into even more taxonomic detail. I don't have any references to-hand but an email to Colin may be quicker than waiting for me to find them!

Les Evans-Hill
Senior Data Officer
Butterfly Conservation, Butterflies for the New Millennium and National Moth Recording Scheme

nmrs's Website

3 Reply by ChrisR

  • ChrisR
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Re: Diachrysia chrysitis f. juncta

I wonder if a good compromise might be to add the 3 form names as junior synonyms of the species?

Diachrysia chrysitis f. juncta
Diachrysia chrysitis f. tutti Kostrowicki
Diachrysia chrysitis f. aurea

Does anyone have any better authority details for these names?

Chris R.

Chris Raper, Manager of the UK Species Inventory, Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity,
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD.  (tel: 020 7942 5894)
also Tachinid Recording Scheme (http://tachinidae.org.uk/)