{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/29430"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/29430","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Microlepidoptera of Illinois hill prairies","abstract":"Among insects, which are the most diverse eukaryotic group on earth, Lepidoptera is one of four enormously diverse orders, with approximately 10,000 described species in North America. Within the order, Nearctic “microlepidoptera,” which represent an overwhelmingly large percentage of diversity within the order, remain poorly known despite their ecological importance in many plant communities. In this thesis, I undertook several studies of microlepidoptera diversity in a natural community type (hill prairie) and a managed community type (biofuel feedstock). In two Illinois hill prairies differing in size, latitude, and plant composition, alpha diversity of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae was similar, but the prairies were found to support different sets of species of these moth groups. It is concluded that the similarity in alpha diversity occurs because the larger prairie supports primarily a complement of moth species that feed as larvae on prairie plants (especially species of Asteraceae and Fabaceae), whereas the moths collected in the small prairie represent relatively few prairie-associated species, plus a large component of species that feed as larvae on deciduous trees that surround the prairie. This agrees with the finding of high beta diversity of moths between the sites, which reflects a high level of larval hostplant specificity in most species of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae. Based on published information plus observations made on microlepidoptera collected during the course of this study, 31 families of basal microlepidoptera were reviewed with an aim toward evaluating the likelihood of their including species that are dependent on tallgrass prairie. Of these families, 12 were evaluated as possible, and two as likely or certain, to include prairie-dependent species. In a comparison of moth diversity in light-trap samples from corn, miscanthus, switchgrass, and native prairie, alpha diversity was highest in prairie and was higher in switchgrass than in the other two biofuel crops. Moth species complements generally were similar among the biofuel crops, and prairie shared higher species complementarity with switchgrass than with corn or miscanthus. These findings suggest that large-scale conversion of land to biofuel crops may, to a substantial degree, detrimentally affect arthropod biodiversity, with a resulting loss of valuable arthropod-derived ecosystem services both within the cropping systems and in the surrounding landscape. During the course of this study, rearing efforts yielded two species of moths of the family Gelechiidae, both of which are monophagous leaf feeders on leadplant, Amorpha canescens (Fabaceae). Because these moths are restricted to tallgrass prairie, they are likely to be of interest to conservation biologists. In the interest of naming the moths to facilitate communication regarding them, and to augment our taxonomic knowledge of their respective genera, the moths are described, and diagnoses are provided to differentiate them from similar, related species.","abstract_html":"Among insects, which are the most diverse eukaryotic group on earth, Lepidoptera is one of four enormously diverse orders, with approximately 10,000 described species in North America. Within the order, Nearctic “microlepidoptera,” which represent an overwhelmingly large percentage of diversity within the order, remain poorly known despite their ecological importance in many plant communities. In this thesis, I undertook several studies of microlepidoptera diversity in a natural community type (hill prairie) and a managed community type (biofuel feedstock). In two Illinois hill prairies differing in size, latitude, and plant composition, alpha diversity of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae was similar, but the prairies were found to support different sets of species of these moth groups. It is concluded that the similarity in alpha diversity occurs because the larger prairie supports primarily a complement of moth species that feed as larvae on prairie plants (especially species of Asteraceae and Fabaceae), whereas the moths collected in the small prairie represent relatively few prairie-associated species, plus a large component of species that feed as larvae on deciduous trees that surround the prairie. This agrees with the finding of high beta diversity of moths between the sites, which reflects a high level of larval hostplant specificity in most species of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae. Based on published information plus observations made on microlepidoptera collected during the course of this study, 31 families of basal microlepidoptera were reviewed with an aim toward evaluating the likelihood of their including species that are dependent on tallgrass prairie. Of these families, 12 were evaluated as possible, and two as likely or certain, to include prairie-dependent species. In a comparison of moth diversity in light-trap samples from corn, miscanthus, switchgrass, and native prairie, alpha diversity was highest in prairie and was higher in switchgrass than in the other two biofuel crops. Moth species complements generally were similar among the biofuel crops, and prairie shared higher species complementarity with switchgrass than with corn or miscanthus. These findings suggest that large-scale conversion of land to biofuel crops may, to a substantial degree, detrimentally affect arthropod biodiversity, with a resulting loss of valuable arthropod-derived ecosystem services both within the cropping systems and in the surrounding landscape. During the course of this study, rearing efforts yielded two species of moths of the family Gelechiidae, both of which are monophagous leaf feeders on leadplant, Amorpha canescens (Fabaceae). Because these moths are restricted to tallgrass prairie, they are likely to be of interest to conservation biologists. In the interest of naming the moths to facilitate communication regarding them, and to augment our taxonomic knowledge of their respective genera, the moths are described, and diagnoses are provided to differentiate them from similar, related species.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Harrison, Terry L."],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Entomology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Berenbaum, May R.","Berlocher, Stewart H.","Whitfield, James B.","Molano-Flores, Brenda"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-02-01T00:46:07Z","date_published":"2012-02-01T00:46:07Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:27Z","subjects":["Microlepidoptera","Prairies","Conservation biology","Gelechiidae","Filatima","Anacampsis","New species"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2011 Terry L. Harrison"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29430","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Berenbaum, May R.","Berlocher, Stewart H.","Whitfield, James B.","Molano-Flores, Brenda"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Harrison, Terry L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012-02-01T00:46:07Z","2014-02-01T11:00:25Z","2011-12"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Entomology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Microlepidoptera","Prairies","Conservation biology","Gelechiidae","Filatima","Anacampsis","New species"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2011 Terry L. 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In two Illinois hill prairies differing in size, latitude, and plant composition, alpha diversity of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae was similar, but the prairies were found to support different sets of species of these moth groups. It is concluded that the similarity in alpha diversity occurs because the larger prairie supports primarily a complement of moth species that feed as larvae on prairie plants (especially species of Asteraceae and Fabaceae), whereas the moths collected in the small prairie represent relatively few prairie-associated species, plus a large component of species that feed as larvae on deciduous trees that surround the prairie. This agrees with the finding of high beta diversity of moths between the sites, which reflects a high level of larval hostplant specificity in most species of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae. Based on published information plus observations made on microlepidoptera collected during the course of this study, 31 families of basal microlepidoptera were reviewed with an aim toward evaluating the likelihood of their including species that are dependent on tallgrass prairie. Of these families, 12 were evaluated as possible, and two as likely or certain, to include prairie-dependent species. In a comparison of moth diversity in light-trap samples from corn, miscanthus, switchgrass, and native prairie, alpha diversity was highest in prairie and was higher in switchgrass than in the other two biofuel crops. Moth species complements generally were similar among the biofuel crops, and prairie shared higher species complementarity with switchgrass than with corn or miscanthus. These findings suggest that large-scale conversion of land to biofuel crops may, to a substantial degree, detrimentally affect arthropod biodiversity, with a resulting loss of valuable arthropod-derived ecosystem services both within the cropping systems and in the surrounding landscape. During the course of this study, rearing efforts yielded two species of moths of the family Gelechiidae, both of which are monophagous leaf feeders on leadplant, Amorpha canescens (Fabaceae). Because these moths are restricted to tallgrass prairie, they are likely to be of interest to conservation biologists. In the interest of naming the moths to facilitate communication regarding them, and to augment our taxonomic knowledge of their respective genera, the moths are described, and diagnoses are provided to differentiate them from similar, related species.","Item withdrawn by Mark Zulauf (zulauf@illinois.edu) on 2011-08-16T19:47:56Z Item was in collections: University of Illinois Theses & Dissertations (ID: 1) No. of bitstreams: 2 Harrison_Terry.doc: 2448896 bytes, checksum: affbd8b6bf61a11b2e2d760b05d74984 (MD5) Harrison_Terry.pdf: 1087948 bytes, checksum: 273b17e544083c978c9aaae6bcbda7e7 (MD5)","Made available in DSpace on 2012-02-01T00:46:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Harrison_Terry.pdf: 1158073 bytes, checksum: f7d8c4919ca6ae027bfc1d2277681030 (MD5) license.txt: 4064 bytes, checksum: bde67387c2c9665fca4fc398c0fc1011 (MD5) Harrison_Terry.doc: 2448896 bytes, checksum: affbd8b6bf61a11b2e2d760b05d74984 (MD5)","Item marked as restricted to the 'UIUC Users [automated]' Group (id=2) by William Ingram (wingram2@illinois.edu) on 2012-02-01T00:50:21Z Item is restricted until 2014-02-01T00:50:07Z","Item reinstated by Sarah Shreeves (sshreeve@illinois.edu) on 2014-02-01T11:00:25Z Item was in collections: Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois (ID: 204) Dissertations and Theses - Entomology (ID: 742) No. of bitstreams: 3 Harrison_Terry.pdf: 1158073 bytes, checksum: f7d8c4919ca6ae027bfc1d2277681030 (MD5) license.txt: 4064 bytes, checksum: bde67387c2c9665fca4fc398c0fc1011 (MD5) Harrison_Terry.doc: 2448896 bytes, checksum: affbd8b6bf61a11b2e2d760b05d74984 (MD5)","Item released from any restrictions by Sarah Shreeves (sshreeve@illinois.edu) on 2014-02-01T11:00:25Z"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Microlepidoptera of Illinois hill prairies"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Berenbaum, May R.","Berlocher, Stewart H.","Whitfield, James B.","Molano-Flores, Brenda"],"dc:creator":["Harrison, Terry L."],"dc:date":["2012-02-01T00:46:07Z","2014-02-01T11:00:25Z","2011-12"],"dc:description":["Among insects, which are the most diverse eukaryotic group on earth, Lepidoptera is one of four enormously diverse orders, with approximately 10,000 described species in North America. Within the order, Nearctic “microlepidoptera,” which represent an overwhelmingly large percentage of diversity within the order, remain poorly known despite their ecological importance in many plant communities. In this thesis, I undertook several studies of microlepidoptera diversity in a natural community type (hill prairie) and a managed community type (biofuel feedstock). In two Illinois hill prairies differing in size, latitude, and plant composition, alpha diversity of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae was similar, but the prairies were found to support different sets of species of these moth groups. It is concluded that the similarity in alpha diversity occurs because the larger prairie supports primarily a complement of moth species that feed as larvae on prairie plants (especially species of Asteraceae and Fabaceae), whereas the moths collected in the small prairie represent relatively few prairie-associated species, plus a large component of species that feed as larvae on deciduous trees that surround the prairie. This agrees with the finding of high beta diversity of moths between the sites, which reflects a high level of larval hostplant specificity in most species of Pyraloidea and Tortricidae. Based on published information plus observations made on microlepidoptera collected during the course of this study, 31 families of basal microlepidoptera were reviewed with an aim toward evaluating the likelihood of their including species that are dependent on tallgrass prairie. Of these families, 12 were evaluated as possible, and two as likely or certain, to include prairie-dependent species. In a comparison of moth diversity in light-trap samples from corn, miscanthus, switchgrass, and native prairie, alpha diversity was highest in prairie and was higher in switchgrass than in the other two biofuel crops. Moth species complements generally were similar among the biofuel crops, and prairie shared higher species complementarity with switchgrass than with corn or miscanthus. These findings suggest that large-scale conversion of land to biofuel crops may, to a substantial degree, detrimentally affect arthropod biodiversity, with a resulting loss of valuable arthropod-derived ecosystem services both within the cropping systems and in the surrounding landscape. During the course of this study, rearing efforts yielded two species of moths of the family Gelechiidae, both of which are monophagous leaf feeders on leadplant, Amorpha canescens (Fabaceae). Because these moths are restricted to tallgrass prairie, they are likely to be of interest to conservation biologists. In the interest of naming the moths to facilitate communication regarding them, and to augment our taxonomic knowledge of their respective genera, the moths are described, and diagnoses are provided to differentiate them from similar, related species.","Item withdrawn by Mark Zulauf (zulauf@illinois.edu) on 2011-08-16T19:47:56Z Item was in collections: University of Illinois Theses & Dissertations (ID: 1) No. of bitstreams: 2 Harrison_Terry.doc: 2448896 bytes, checksum: affbd8b6bf61a11b2e2d760b05d74984 (MD5) Harrison_Terry.pdf: 1087948 bytes, checksum: 273b17e544083c978c9aaae6bcbda7e7 (MD5)","Made available in DSpace on 2012-02-01T00:46:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Harrison_Terry.pdf: 1158073 bytes, checksum: f7d8c4919ca6ae027bfc1d2277681030 (MD5) license.txt: 4064 bytes, checksum: bde67387c2c9665fca4fc398c0fc1011 (MD5) Harrison_Terry.doc: 2448896 bytes, checksum: affbd8b6bf61a11b2e2d760b05d74984 (MD5)","Item marked as restricted to the 'UIUC Users [automated]' Group (id=2) by William Ingram (wingram2@illinois.edu) on 2012-02-01T00:50:21Z Item is restricted until 2014-02-01T00:50:07Z","Item reinstated by Sarah Shreeves (sshreeve@illinois.edu) on 2014-02-01T11:00:25Z Item was in collections: Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois (ID: 204) Dissertations and Theses - Entomology (ID: 742) No. of bitstreams: 3 Harrison_Terry.pdf: 1158073 bytes, checksum: f7d8c4919ca6ae027bfc1d2277681030 (MD5) license.txt: 4064 bytes, checksum: bde67387c2c9665fca4fc398c0fc1011 (MD5) Harrison_Terry.doc: 2448896 bytes, checksum: affbd8b6bf61a11b2e2d760b05d74984 (MD5)","Item released from any restrictions by Sarah Shreeves (sshreeve@illinois.edu) on 2014-02-01T11:00:25Z"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29430"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2011 Terry L. Harrison"],"dc:subject":["Microlepidoptera","Prairies","Conservation biology","Gelechiidae","Filatima","Anacampsis","New species"],"dc:title":["Microlepidoptera of Illinois hill prairies"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Entomology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:27Z"}