Epiphyas intrepida sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): an endemic, not a stowaway, on Lord Howe Island

Abstract

The tortricid moth genus Epiphyas Turner, 1927, comprises 39 described species and is largely confined to the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Lord Howe Island is the only other place where more than one Epiphyas species is found, these being Epiphyas postvittana (Walker, 1863), a widely polyphagous and widespread horticultural pest commonly known as the ‘light brown apple moth’, and a second species identified by J. D. Bradley as Epiphyas aulacana (Meyrick, 1881). Because Lord Howe Island is on the UNESCO s world heritage register, it is important to distinguish native from exotic insects as a means for uncovering and managing biosecurity threats to the island. To test whether E. aulacana sensu Bradley is indeed conspecific with E. aulacana‐like moths from the Australian mainland and Tasmania, specimens from all three islands were examined, and nucleotide sequence data obtained and compared from the mitochondrial gene region cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and three nuclear gene regions: isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and the carbomoylphosphate synthetase (CPS) domain of the gene known as CAD. The results suggest that the second species is not E. aulacana but a new species, Epiphyas intrepida sp. nov., which like its larval host plant Cassinia tenuifolia Bentham, 1867, is endemic to the island.