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Updated: May 31, 2026

Electrophysiological Measurements from a Moth Olfactory System
Published on: March 29, 2011
A new species of sack-bearer moth (Lepidoptera, Mimallonidae) from Florida
Ryan A St Laurent1, Scott Wehrly2, Jeffrey Slotten3
1Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA & Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado Boulder United States of America.
Abstract:
A rarely reported new species of Mimallonidae from Florida, USA, is described. Remarkably, the distinctive new species has not been seen across much of its historical range since the 1960s, and all records come from six somewhat isolated white sand Florida Scrub habitats, one of which is completely destroyed and most others clearly imperiled. DNA barcoding sequences from the disparate populations suggest notable genetic diversity in the few known populations, meaning extirpation of any of them could signal loss of critical population structure of an already narrowly endemic species. Cicinnus albarenicolus St Laurent, sp. nov. is compared to the only other similar species in North America, C. melsheimeri (Harris in Doubleday), a common denizen of oak forests throughout the eastern United States, including Florida, southern Canada, and the Rocky Mountains. Until its distribution and life history are more well-understood, C. albarenicolus will remain an enigmatic taxon of major conservation concern.
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