Lasaia pseudomeris Clench, 1972

Arellano-Covarrubias, Arturo, Luis-Martínez, Armando & Llorente-Bousquets, Jorge, 2023, Description of the females of two species of the genus Lasaia (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae) and new records for Mexico, Zootaxa 5231 (1), pp. 24-36 : 27-29

Lasaia pseudomeris Clench, 1972

( Figures 1C, 1D , 2B , 3B )

Description ♀. n=4; forewing= 12.77–14.09mm (x = 13.19 mm; Fig. 1B ). Head. Brown hairy eyes, with white scales at the palps; ocular ring with white-brown scales; frons with white and grey scales. Antennae. Black with rounded white scales. Abdomen. Black with blue/green metallic scales in the dorsal view, and whitish/cream scales in ventral view. Thorax. Grey scales in the dorsal view, and white-blue scales at ventral view. Legs. White scales over all the legs. Forewing (dorsal view). Background color brown with white scales, and black spots. Marginal region with black circular spots between R 4 –1A+2A veins; those who are located between R 4 –CuA 2 are bigger than the spots near of tornus. The rest of the wing, has the typical spots of the genus. Forewing (ventral view). Background color white/cream, except of the medial region that is more opaque, almost brown. The rest of maculation is similar to the dorsal view, both in shape and position. Hindwing (dorsal view). Background color brown, with the exception of above the sector R, where they are cream/beige coloration, with the presence of black spots. Marginal region with irregular spots, approximately of the same size, the spots below of veins 1A+2A, are smaller. Postmedial region exhibits a series of trapezoidal macules between veins Sc+R 1 –M 2, these can become fused with the macules of the veins Rs–M 1, of the medial region. The rest of the wing, has the typical spots of the genus. Hindwing (dorsal view). Background coloration white/cream, with the exception of the medial region that is more opaque, almost brown. Postmedial region, below veins 1A+2A veins, have a trapezoidal macule more prominent. The rest of macules are similar to the dorsal view, both in shape and position.\

Genitalia. Corpus bursae thick, “pear” shaped, without signa; ductus bursae widened in the region near of corpus bursae, and thinner in the region proximal of ostium bursae, approximately the same length as the corpus bursae, in ventral view, it is located in the middle part of the sternite 8; sternites 6, 7 and 8 are sclerotized ( Fig. 2B ).

Material Examined. French Guiana: 2 ♀. (USNMENT 01588228) Sinnamary. 13-I-91. Jean-Yves Gallard coll. Donated to USNM by Jean-Yves Gallard, November , 1993. (USNMENT 01544146) Point Malmanoury. 20- I-1991. J.-Y. Gallard coll. DNA Sample ID: NVG-19027B10 C7 O Nick V. Grishin. Colombia : 1 ♀ (USNMENT 01588219). Montañita , Caquetá, 350 m, 26-Jan-1971. S. S. & S. Nicolay coll. Lasaia narses ♀, Det. By S. S. Nicolay. Trinidad : 1 ♀ (USNMENT 01588227). Trinidad Isl.

Diagnosis. Females of L. pseudomeris can be distinguished from females of other species of Lasaia , by the presence of circular spots of uniform size at the marginal area, of the forewings and hindwings ( Fig. 3B ). Additionally, in the postmedial area of the hindwing, the spots near the apex can become fused ( Fig. 3B ), unlike other species of the genus ( Figs. 3A, 3C and 3D ). The female of this species is similar in size of Lasaia sula sspp.

Distribution. Based on label data of examined specimens, L. pseudomeris is distributed in Costa Rica, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Guiana and French Guiana, Colombia, Ecuador, and Trinidad ( Fig. 4 ). The elevation ranges from sea level to 950 m s.a.l., approximately.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Males and females of Lasaia arsis (A and B), and L. pseudomeris (C and D) in dorsal and ventral view. Scale bars correspond to 1 cm.

FIGURE 2. Female genitalia of Lasaia arsis (A), and L. pseudomeris (B), in ventral view. Ob: ostium bursae; db: ductus bursae, and cb: corpus bursae. Scale bars correspond to 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Females of Lasaia arsis (A), L. pseudomeris (B), L. agesilas callaina (C), and L. sula sula (D), in dorsal (left) and ventral (right) view. Scale bars correspond to 1 cm.

FIGURE 4. Geographic distribution of Lasaia arsis and L. pseudomeris.