Holarctias rufinularia ( Staudinger, 1901 )

Beljaev, Evgeny A., 2011, Redescription of Holarctias rufinularia (Staudinger, 1901), with notes on the taxonomy and relationships of Holarctias Prout, 1913 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Sterrhinae), Zootaxa 3097, pp. 57-67 : 58-62

Holarctias rufinularia ( Staudinger, 1901)

Figs. 1–4 , 9–16

Acidalia sentinaria v. rufinularia Staudinger, 1901 , in Staudinger & Rebel, Cat. Lep. palaearct. Faunengeb. (Edn 3) 1: 272. Type locality: Ost Sajan [ Russia, Buryatia/Irkutsk region, East Sayan Mountains]. 5 syntypets, MNHU.

Acidalia sentinaria v. rufinularia :? Djakonov, 1908: 26 [East Kazakhstan, the specimens had not been traced, but probably Djakonov's consideration of rufinularia agrees with it treatment by Herz (1903: 13), which is misidentification of H. rufinaria ].

Holarctias sentinaria rufinularia: Prout, 1913: 85 .

Holarctias sentinaria var. rufinularia: Prout, 1934 (1934–35): 166.

Scopula sentinatia rufinularia: Parsons & al., 1999 : 863 [type locality is given incorrectly as "W Sajan"]; Sihvonen, 2005: 528.

Holarctias rufinularia: Kostjuk & Golovushkin, 2003: 30 .

Misidentifications: rufinularia auct., nec Staudinger, 1901: Herz, 1903: 13; Prout, 1935 (1934–39): 85; Sterneck, 1941: 27, 31; Hausmann, 2004: 359–361, pl. 20, figs 165d–f, male genitalia: fig. 165b [as " Holarctias sentinaria ", misplaced with fig. 165c " Holarctias rufinularia ", that follows from the genitalia description on the page 360], female genitalia: fig. 165b; Leraut, 2009: 783, pl. 151, fig. 13. Identity: Holarctias rufinaria ( Staudinger, 1861) .

Description. Male (fig. 1). Wingspan 17–20 mm. Head (including frons), thorax and femur covered by hair-like scales of two forms: light ochreous long and sparse, and dark brown shorter and denser. Frons wide, moderately convex. Eyes small, elliptical. Palpi bushy and comparatively long, more then eye diameter. Antennae thick, dorsally scaled with light and dark scales, ventrally serrate ciliate-fasciculate, with two transverse rows of cilia, teeth moderately large, laterally at the middle of the antenna almost equalling in height the diameter of the flagellum at the junction of the segments, cilia slightly curved, moderately long, approximately same length as a segment of flagellum. Proboscis well developed, strong. Wings ochreous, more or less darkened up to antemedial line (on forewing) and median line (on hindwing), transverse lines dark brown, discal spot distinct, appearing as a transverse blackish line along the discal vein, veins with strong dark suffusion. Forewing with antemedial line distinct (if not concealed by dark dusting of base of wing), narrow, rounded, median line distinct, wide, diffused, postmedial line distinct, narrow, distinctly bent inward between veins M1–M3. Subterminal line fuzzy but clearly distinguishable. Hindwing with pattern similar to forewing, but antemedial line absent, discal spot less distinct, postmedial line prominently twice bent inward in the cells between veins M1–M3 and CuA2–2A. Underside of wings similar, but paler, discal spots more distinct. In the forewing venation a single large areole present, arising considerably basal to discal cell apex but areole apex exceeding distal margin of cell, R1 and R2–R5 on a short, common stalk, origins of R1 close to middle between the areole apex and R5. On hindwing Rs and M l distinctly stalked, M3 and CuA l separate. Hind tibia not dilated, without hairpencil, with two long spurs, tarsus not shortened. Tympanal cavity large, sclerotized, ansa typical for Sterrhinae , asymmetric with moderate lateral extension. Modification of sternum A2 lacking. Female (fig. 2). As male in size and maculation, but paler. Antennae filiform. Hindtibia with two long terminal spurs, proximal spurs lacking. Male genitalia (figs 9–14). Socii short, sclerotized, lobe-like, ventro-posteriorly with short pointed spine directed caudally. Valva short, cucullus ('valvula') slightly sclerotized, slender, simple, almost equal to sacculus in length, sacculus ('fibula') sclerotized, with claw-shaped pointed apex but less strong than in subgenus Calothysanis Hübner, 1823 , of Scopula . Processes on juxta long and wide, reaching to 3/4 of length of sacculus. Aedeagus narrow, with long basal process (caecum), distally with long groove-like process twisted into a wide pointed hook, placed almost at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the aedeagus; horn-like cornutus lacking. Sternum A8 almost simple, posteriorly slightly concave and with a pair of small protuberances posterio-laterally, which could be homologous to cerata. Female genitalia (figs 15, 16). Vaginal plate (sterigma) moderately sclerotized, triangular, wrinkled, but without pillow-like extension around ostium bursae which is characteristic for Scopula . Antrum broad, open, rounded at the ostium, anteriorly sharply narrowed into a funnel-like shape and twisted, widening again after the constriction and passing into a small simple membranous oval corpus bursae.

Differential diagnosis. Other congeners, the closely related species H. rufinaria ( Figs. 5, 6 , 17–21 ) and H. sentinaria , superficially similar to H. rufinularia , but usually larger, with postmedial line on forewing not bent inward at the costal margin and with postmedial line on hindwing without prominent inward curve between veins M1–M3. In male flagellum with ventral teeth large, laterally at the middle of the antenna much larger in height than diameter of flagellum at junction of segments, cilia long, approximately twice length of a segment of flagellum. Forewing with areole arising close to cell apex and origins of R l and R5 close to each other. In males sternum A8 posteriorly convex; in the male genitalia socii much larger and with process ventral and blunt, sacculi less clawshaped and not pointed at apex, processes on juxta much shorter and not reaching middle of sacculi, aedeagus much stouter, with strong cornutus and without a free hook-like process on apex. In the female genitalia ostium bursae much narrower, antrum not twisted, widened laterally at the middle, corpus bursae larger.

Materials examined. Type specimens: 5 syntypes: 1 3, labeled as: green label: "Ost Sajan, 92, Sib. c. m.", rose label: "Origin", white label: "v. Rufinilaria Stg." [probable written by Staudinger], red label: " Lectotypus Holact. rufinularia Srgr. 3 I. Kostjuk design., 1996". 2 3, 2 Ƥ, labeled as: green ring [probably equivalent to the label "Ost Sajan, 92, Sib. c. m."], rose label: "Origin". (All in MNHU). Other material: 1 3, Russia, Zabaikalsk Region, Kalar area, 130 km SSW from Chara, Srednii Kalar village, 750 meters above sea level, 14.vii.1969 (collector unknown) ( IBSS). 1 Ƥ, Russia, East Yakutia, Verkhoyanje, vicinity of Hayysardah (Хайысардах) village, 03. vii.2009 (N.K. Potapova legit.) ( IBPCZ).

Distribution. Russia: East Sayan mountains, northern Transbaikal, north-east оf Yakutia (fig. 22).

Biology. The moths were collected in July, contemporary with flying of H. rufinaria . The species probably quite local and rare, judging from the fact that it is not present in the rich collections of ZISP, SZMN and IBPCZ (only 1 female cited above), where numerous specimens of H. rufinaria are kept.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Type specimens of Holarctias Prout. 1 – 4. Holarctias rufinularia Staudinger: 1 — syntype, male; 2 — syntype, female; 3 — original labels of the syntype, male; 4 — lectotype label made by I. Kostjuk (nomenclaturally unavailable). 5 – 8. Holarctias rufinaria Staudinger: 5 — male, syntype of Acidalia rufularia Eversmann; 6 — male, holotype of Acidalia rufociliaria Bremer; 7 — labels of the syntype of Acidalia rufularia; 8 — labels of the holotype of Acidalia rufociliaria.

FIGURES 9 – 16. The genitalia of Holarctias rufinularia Staudinger. 9 – 11. the male genitalia, syntype (right side of the genital segment is split); 12 – 14. the male genitalia, specimen from Kalar area; 15. the female genitalia, specimen from Verkhoyanje; 16. the female genitalia, syntype. (9, 12 — the genitalia, aedeagus removed; 10, 13 — aedeagus; 11, 14 — sternum A 8).

FIGURES 17 – 21. The genitalia of Holarctias rufinaria Staudinger. 17 – 19. the male genitalia, specimen from vicinity of Mondy, Buryatia (17 — the genitalia, aedeagus removed; 18 — aedeagus; 19 — the sternum A 8); 20. male, other specimen from same locality, sternum A 8. 21. the female genitalia, specimen from Magistral'nyi, northern Baikal vicinity, Irkutsk Region.