Homochlodes Hulst, 1896, a Single Species in the United States and Canada (Geometridae, Ennominae)

Abstract

The three species of Homochlodes Hulst of the eastern United States and Canada are recognized as a single species: Homochlodes fritillaria (Guenée, [1858]). Homochlodes disconventa (Walker, 1860) rev. stat. and Homochlodes lactispargaria (Walker, 1861) rev. stat. are re-synonymized with Homochlodes fritillaria. The recognition of H. fritillaria as a single taxon is supported by DNA (COI) barcodes, lack of disambiguating genitalic characters, and highly variable adult markings (Fig. 4) that do not consistently differentiate the currently recognized species. The adult variation, genetic data, and taxonomic history of this genus north of Mexico are discussed.