Castnia ambatensis, (Houlbert, 1917)

Worthy, Robert, González, Jorge M. & Zilli, Alberto, 2022, A review of the genera Amauta Houlbert, 1918 and Divana J. Y. Miller, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) with description of a new genus, Zootaxa 5194 (3), pp. 301-342 : 320-321

ambatensis ( Houlbert, 1917)

( Fig. 8H )

“ Castnia Ambatensis ♀, sp. nov. ” Houlbert, 1917, Études de Lépidoptérologie comparée 13: 55 .

Type material: Described from a single female collected by Jean Stolzmann [= Jan Sztolcman] (1854–1928) (fig. 8H). This specimen is the holotype by monotypy; at the time of description, it was in the collection of Charles Oberthür (1845–1924), it is now in NHMUK .

Type locality: The locality label reads: Hacienda Macháy, Paroisse Baños, Canton Pillaro, Province Ambato, Vallée du Pastaza, Ecuador (J Stolzmann) .

Taxonomic status: Originally described as a species and treated as such by Miller (1995) and Lamas (1995), this nominal taxon is here synonymised with Castnia papilionaris Walker, [1865] (syn. nov.), so it is a junior subjective synonym of that taxon (now in Amauta ).

Distribution: Not relevant.

Discussion: In his original description Houlbert (1917) states that the “species” is characterised by the width and shape of the blue and yellow postmedian bands on the wings. He mentions that the forewing yellow band is narrower than that of amethystina , but this character applies equally to papilionaris , of which this taxon is a synonym. The main difference that he picks out is that the hindwing blue band is the same width throughout its length, and is not dilated in the middle, as in papilionaris and amethystina . Houlbert had access to very few specimens of A. papilionaris and none of the nominotypical subspecies, he only knew Westwood’s (1877) stylised figure (fig. 8C); he was also inclined to be a splitter, describing new species from the smallest differentiation in the features of a single specimen. The type of ambatensis is easily lost in the long series of papilionaris from Ecuador in NHMUK and the size and shape of the hindwing blue band falls within the variation of the feature in this taxon, therefore we can see no reason to maintain the name ambatensis as anything more than a synonym of the nominotypical subspecies.

Material examined: The holotype was examined for this study.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Figures A, B: Amauta papilionaris amethystina (Houlbert, 1917): A, ♂, Panama, ex OberthÜr, dissected by J.Y. Miller, NHMUK010474233 (NHMUK); B, ♂, Costa Rica, Provincia de Limón, Limón, Nicholas Zakharoff gift (CAS). Figures C–H: Amauta papilionaris papilionaris (Walker, [1865]): C, ♂ HT (from Westwood, 1887). D, ♂ HT, Bogota, [Colombia], BMNH(E)806993 (NHMUK); E, ♂, Merida, Ven[ezuela], (Briceno), NHMUK010474234 (NHMUK); F, ♀, Via Chorro del Indio, 1200, IV-82, CR, crepuscular last p.m. (coll. CFR); G, ♀, W Columb[ia], Rio Dagua, 600–1000m, W. Hopp S, ex Joicey, NHMUK010474231 (NHMUK); H, ♀ HT, ambatensis (Houlbert, 1917), Ecuador, Hacienda Macháy, Paroisse Baños, Canton Pillaro, Province Ambato, Vallée du Pastaza, (J. Stolzmann), NHMUK010474227 (NHMUK).