Insects and Spiders
Monarch Butterfies in Sonora and Adjacent Northwestern Mexico
Since 1979, observations of monarch butter y (Danaus plexippus L.) in Sonora, Mexico have been low. There are 10 records of monarchs breeding in Sonora on Asclepias curassavica, A. lemmonii, A. linaria, and A. subulata (Apocynaceae).
Preliminary Assessment of the Moth (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) Fauna of Rincon de Guadalupe, Sierra de Bacadéhuachi, Sonora, Mexico
The Sierra de Bacadéhuachi is a poorly sampled extension of the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) located in east-central Sonora near the town of Bacadéhuachi. Sampling of moths using mercury vapor and ultraviolet lights occurred in summer and fall 2011, and spring 2012 at Rincón de Guadalupe, located in pine-oak forest at 1680 m elevation. Approximately 400 taxa of moths were identified from this locality. Species occurrences demonstrate connections to the famously diverse Yécora area, to the higher, more mesic SMO in Chihuahua, as well as the Rocky Mountains to the north.
Erpetogomphus molossus, a new species from Sonora, Mexico (Odonata: Anisoptera: Gomphidae)
Erpetogomphus molossus is described from 3 male and 3 female specimens (holotype and allotype in collection of Instituto Biologico de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) from the intermittent pine-oak woodland of the Yécora municipio in east-central Sonora, Mexico. Diagnostic features of the new species include the seemingly bulbous tip (in lateral view) and prominent baso-ventral process of the male cerci and the notched and denticled posteromesal corners of the female subgenital plate.
