Telemiades sila Evans, 1953

Siewert, Ricardo Russo, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Telemiades Hübner, [1819] (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Eudaminae), with descriptions of fourteen new species, Zootaxa 4721 (1), pp. 1-111 : 55

Telemiades sila Evans, 1953

( Figs 86, 87 , 213 )

Telemiades epicalus sila Evans, 1953 . Cat. Amer. Hesp. 3, p. 28, pl. 27 (male gen.); male [holo] type, Venezuela; BM(NH).— Bridges, 1983. Lep. Hesp. 1, p. 109; 2, p. 36.—Bridges, 1988. Cat. Hesp. 1, p. 172; 2, p. 60.—Maes et al., 1999, in Maes. Cat. Ins. Art. Nicaragua 3, p. 1259.— Murray, 2000. Jour. Res. Lep. 35: 53.

Telemiades sila ; Steinhauser, 1975. Bull. Allyn Mus. 29: 30.— Steinhauser, 1989. Bull. Allyn Mus. 127: 16.— Mielke, 2004. Hesperioidea, p. 57, in Lamas (ed.). Checklist: Part 4A, Hesperioidea–Papilionoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas Neotrop. Lep. 5A.— Mielke, 2005. Cat. Amer. Hesperioidea 3, p. 749.—Garwood & Lehman, 2013. Butt. C. Amer. 3, Hesp., p. 64, figs (d, v).

(no genus) sila ; Beattie, 1976. Rhop. Direct., p. 259.

Type material. Telemiades epicalus sila Evans, 1953 was described based on the male holotype from Venezuela and from two male specimens from Colombia and Ecuador. The male holotype is deposited at the NHMUK and illustrated on Butterflies of America ( Warren et al. 2018) with the following labels: / 50/ Type [verso from the same label:] sila Evans / 1163 Las Quiguas Esteban Valley N. Venezuela Nov to March 10 / ex coll. Hamilton Druce, 1919./ [rectangular black label] [label with genitalia attached] / BMNH(E) 1236496/.

Diagnosis. FW length: males 19 mm (n=3). Telemiades sila resembles T. epicalus , but is distinguished by the following characters: ground color darker, with larger spots in DW, and tegumen with one pair of lateral apophysis.

Distribution. Telemiades sila is known from Central and Northern South America, with records in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Taxonomic discussion. Telemiades sila was described as a subspecies of T. epicalus ( Evans 1953) . The differences pointed out by Evans (1953) in the morphology of the wing and the male genitalia prompted Steinhauser (1989) to interpret T. sila as a species distinct from T. epicalus . The diagnostic characters of T. sila that separate it from T. epicalus include darker ground color of DW, with more conspicuous spots, asymmetric valvae and tegumen with one pair of lateral apophysis ( Evans 1953, Steinhauser 1989). Through the examination of the holotype and one of the paratyes of T. sila , which are deposited in the NHMUK, it was possible to verify that the valvae are not asymmetrical, as stated in their original description ( Evans 1953). However, the tegumen with only one pair of lateral apophysis was confirmed. The wing pattern of T. sila is similar to the wing pattern of some examined specimens of T. epicalus . In order to reliably separate both species, the examination of the male genitalia is necessary. The females of T. sila remain unknown.

Examined material. COLOMBIA: Boyacá— Otanche , VIII–1903, 1 male, M. de Mathan leg., NHMUK 010242119 ( NHMUK) .

ECUADOR: Bolívar— La Chima , Rio de las Juntas, pr.[near] a Babahoyo, VI–VII–1893, 1 male, M. de Mathan leg., NHMUK 010242120 * ( NHMUK) .

VENEZUELA: Carabobo— Las Quiguas (Esteban Valley), 1 male, ex–coll. Druce, BMNH(E) 1236496* ( NHMUK) .

Figures

FIGURE 213. Geographical distribution of Telemiades from the “epicalus group”.

FIGURES 78–95. Species of Telemiades from the ‘epicalus group’, dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views. 78–81. Telemiades choricus (Schaus, 1902). 78–79. Male from X–Can, Mexico (OM 44.902—OM). 80–81. Female from Candelaria Loxicha, Mexico (DZ 25.874—DZUP). 82–85. Telemiades epicalus Hübner, [1819]. 82–83. Male from Parque Manu, Madre de Díos, Peru (DZ 25.857—DZUP). 84–85. Female from Roura, French Guiana (DZ 25.953—DZUP). 86–87. Telemiades sila Evans, 1953, holotype male from Vale Esteban, Venezuela (BMNH(E) 1236496—NHMUK). 88–91. Telemiades dawkinsi Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande, sp. nov. 88–89. Holotype male from Antonina, Paraná, Brazil (OM 52.913—DZUP). 90–91. Allotype female from Antonina, Paraná, Brazil (OM 53.241—DZUP). 92–93. Telemiades sp. 8 Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande, sp. nov., holotype male from Rodríguez de Mendonza, Peru (OM 63.717—DZUP). 94–95. Telemiades mielkei Siewert & Casagrande, sp. nov., holotype male from Quebrada Quitacalzón, Vale do Cosñipata, Cuzco, Peru (OM 79.821—DZUP).