Deborah Matthews

• Doctor of Philosophy
• University of Florida

Five species of Cautethia Grote (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) occur in the Lucayan (Bahamas) Archipelago, three of which are new to science. Cautethia simoni Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described and illustrated from Mayaguana Island, Bahamas, and Providenciales and Grand Turk of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Cautethia gossi Miller, Mat...

Records of Bahamas plume moths (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) collected since 2011 are summarized and four new species described: Michaelophorus salensis Matthews, new species, Oidaematophorus androsensis Matthews, new species, Hellinsia bahamensis Matthews, new species, and Hellinsia lucayana Matthews, new species. Species accounts including illustr...

Recent surveys in The Bahamas recorded four species of Archipini. Of these, Argyrotaenia flavoreticulana Austin & Dombroskie, sp. n. is described and illustrated, while A. amatana (Dyar), A. kimballi Obraztsov, and Clepsis peritana (Clemens) are reported from The Bahamas for the first time. Because of the difficulty of identifying the latter three...

We review the genus Cyclargus Nabokov (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) based on detailed comparative analyses of wing patterns, genitalia, and mitochondrial COI DNA barcode sequences, and suggest that Cyclargus is composed of four species: C. thomasi (Clench), C. woodruffi (W. Comstock and Huntington), C. ammon (Lucas), and C. dominica (Möschler). The fol...

Two new species of Megalota Diakonoff, 1966 are described and illustrated from the Bahamas: M. bahamana Brown & Matthews, new species, and M. insularis Brown and Matthews, new species. The two are among the 65 or so species of Tortricidae recorded from the Bahamas during an inventory of the Lepidoptera of the archipelago initiated in 2010.

Recent surveys to document the poorly known moth fauna of the Bahamas have resulted in the collection of more than 60 morphospecies of Tortricidae. Among these are several Eucosmini, including undescribed representatives of Eucosma and Pelochrista that are similar to several species present in the southeastern United States. Eucosma bahamae, sp.n.,...

Oxyptilus eleanerae sp. n., is described from New Mexico, Arizona, and Southwest Texas, and compared with the only other Oxyptilus occurring in the Nearctic Region, O. delawaricus Zeller. A redescription is provided for O. delawaricus. Adults and male and female genitalia are illustrated for both species. Key morphological characters, distributions...

Originally described from Great Guana Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas, Choranthus richmondi L. Miller, was also recorded from North Andros Island. Three specimens were collected on South Andros Island, Bahamas, in March 2014, representing a new record for this island. Photographs of adults, a complete diagnosis, genitalia illustrations, and a descripti...

Oidaematophorus espeletiae, sp. nov., is described from the Chingaza páramo in Colombia. The life history, external characters of the adult, male and female genitalia, final instar larva, and pupa are described and illustrated. This moth species is widely distributed in the páramo. Larvae cause damage in meristem leaves of frailejones (Espeletia sp...

Observations of the life history of a plume moth, Postplatyptilia caribica Gielis are presented along with an adult diagnosis and descriptions of the final instar larva and pupa. The species was previously known only from two female specimens. Illustrations are provided for the adults and immatures, including both male and female genitalia. Morphol...

Adult specimens of Geometridae from the Dale H. Habeck Lepidoptera collection were databased in Excel 97 for inclusion in the Florida Museum of Natural History collection databases. A synopsis of data from 58 reared Florida species is presented. Larval hosts are listed from 97 genera representing 45 angiosperm plant families. First known hosts for...

Three new species of Pselnophorus are described from the Nearctic region. Pselnophorus chihuahuaensis Matthews, Gielis, and Watkins, Pselnophorus hodgesi Matthews, Gielis, and Watkins, and Pselnophorus kutisi Matthews, Gielis, and Watkins, are described and distinguished from the only previously named Nearctic congener Pselnophorus belfragei (Fish)...

The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base covers a 120 km2 area at the southeastern shore of Cuba. The bay area is surrounded by several mountain ranges with the resulting rain shadow limiting annual precipitation to less than 24 inches. The unique dry tropical sub-montane to marsh habitats preserved on the base are home to a variety of endemic and widespread...

Recent fieldwork on North Andros Island by the authors resulted in the collection of six species of Pterophoridae (Lepidoptera), five of which were previously unrecorded for the Bahamas in published accounts. Three additional species are noted for the Bahamian fauna based on specimens collected in the 1980s on other islands. Representative specimen...

A biodiversity inventory of the Lepidoptera of Pico Bonito National Park and vicinity, in the Department of Atlantida of northern Honduras, was initiated in 2009 to obtain baseline data. We present a revised checklist of Honduran butterfly species (updated from the initial 1967 lists), as well as the first comprehensive list of Honduran moths. Our...

A synopsis of data for 41 butterfly species collected and observed at the United States Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during January 2012 is presented along with observations on habitat, nectar plants, and natural history. Data are also provided for specimens in the collections of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera which were collected on the b...

Observations on the life history of the Cacao Plume Moth, Michaelophorus nubilus (Felder & Rogenhofer) in Honduras are presented along with illustrations and diagnostic features of the adults, larvae, and pupae. This species was previously unrecorded from Honduras and is one of several new records for the family resulting from a cooperative biodive...

Specimens of a recently described pterophorid, Adaina ipomoeae Bigot and Etienne, 2009 (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae), were identified from Grenada, Dominican Republic, and Florida. All are new country records. Bigot and Etienne (2009) recently published the results of collecting and rearing of Pterophoridae from Guadeloupe Island. Eleven plume moth...

A new species of Hellinsia Tutt, 1905 from the southeastern United States is described and illustrated. Immature stages are also described. Larvae feed exposed on leaves of Eupatorium compositifolium Walt.

Leptodeuterocopus neales is reported from Florida and the United States for the first time. Florida Experiment Station Journal Series No. R-10481.

A checklist of the Pterophoridae of Florida includes 32 species with larval host plant records for 27 species. Species changes and updated nomenclature since Kimball (1965) are noted. /// Se da una lista de los Pterophoridae de la Florida que incluye 32 especies con el registro de sus plantas hospederas para 27 especies. Se incluyen los nuevos camb...

The life history of Sphenarches anisodactylus (Walker) in Florida is presented. Descriptions and durations of life stages are given and bionomics relative to the Florida host, Thalia geniculata (Marantaceae) are discussed. Development time of laboratory reared individuals from oviposition to adult emergence was 21.8 days for males and 22.5 days for...

Observations on the life history of the Cacao Plume Moth, Michaelophorus nubilus (Felder & Rogenhofer), in Honduras are presented along with diagnoses and images of adults, and the first detailed descriptions and illustrations of the final instar larva and pupa. The species is reported for the first time from Honduras. Larvae are pests of Theobroma...