PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 90(2), 1988, pp. 164-178 DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY OF ACROLOPHUS PHOLETER, (LEPIDOPTERA: TINEIDAE), A NEW MOTH COMMENSAL FROM GOPHER TORTOISE BURROWS IN FLORIDA Donald R. Davis and Eric G. Milstrey (DRD) Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Washington, D.C. 20560; (EGM) U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency, Field Support Activity, Fort Mead. Maryland 20755. Abstract. —Vacuum sampling of gopher tortoise burrows in Putnam County, Florida, has resulted in the discovery of a new species of tineid moth, Acrolophus pholeter Davis. The larva feeds on both the fecal pellets of the gopher tortoise and upon decaying plant debris within the burrow. Supplemented by numerous illustrations, the larval, pupal, and adult stages are described, and the general biology is summarized. A>i' Words: Lepidoptera, Tineidae, moth biology, Gopherus polyphenms, gopher tor-toise Recent vacuum sampling for invertebrate commensals in the burrows of the gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphenms Daudin, by the junior author has revealed the presence of a few arthropods previously unreported. Among these was a new species of Acrolo-phus that was found in abundance feeding on both tortoise fecal pellets and decaying plant debris within the burrow. This is the first record of an Acrolophus commensal in an animal burrow. The sub-terranean, tube-constructing habit of the ge-nus, however, is well known. Other Tine-idae (all Acrolophinae) have been reported from rodent burrows (Hubbard 1 90 1 . Hub-bell and Goff 1939, Davis et al. 1986), and at least one other moth, Idia gopheri (Smith), is known to inhabit the burrows of the go-pher tortoise (Hubbard 1894. 1896. Smith 1899. Woodruff 1982). Hubbell and Goff (1939) reported that some arthropod com-mensals were true obligates and had not been collected outside gopher tortoise burrows. It is not known to what extent Acrolophus pholeter n. sp. is restricted to burrows of this tortoise or if the moth also frequents rodent burrows. The absence of previous Acrolophus collecting records suggests that its habitat may be rather restricted. Since at least the Pleistocene, gopher tor-toise burrows have provided a relatively stable habitat for the establishment of a di-verse community of organisms. The integ-rity of individual burrows is normally main-tained for five years or more. In terms of numbers of both vertebrate and inverte-brate species found using gopher tortoise burrows, the diversity is one of the greatest yet studied in North American animal bur-rows (Milstrey 1986). Sampling of organisms from gopher tor-toise burrows can be a formidable task. De-pending upon soil type and water table, bur-rows may extend up to 40 feet long and 1 2 feet deep (Young and Goff 1939). Excava-tion of such galleries can create a sizeable trench (Hubbard 1894). In recent years the use of vacuum suction devices (Butler et al. 1984) has greatly facilitated collecting from burrows without decimating the landscape
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