Getta tica, Miller, 2009

Miller, James S, 2009, Generic Revision Of The Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) Part 2: Josiini, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2009 (321), pp. 675-1022 : 706-709

Getta tica , new species Figures 293 , 294 ; plates 26, 40B

DIAGNOSIS: Specimens of Getta tica from Costa Rica and Panama, have until now been regarded as Central American examples of G. baetifica (type locality: Angamarca, Ecuador). The two are extremely similar in appearance (pl. 26). Differences include a more intensely colored and wider orange-yellow transverse FW band in G. tica , and a purplish blue, rather than turquoise blue, iridescence. However, the most reliable means for separating the two requires study of their genitalia. The male vesica is much longer in G. baetifica , whereas the ventral plate of the female CB is wider and more rounded in G. tica (fig. 293D). The third taxon in this species complex, G. turrenti , sp. nov, from northern Central America, is even more purple in the FW and HW. Its genitalia are distinctive, showing an especially wide, short vesica (fig. 295C) and a large basal appendix of the female CB (fig. 295D).

DESCRIPTION: Male. FW length 5 19.5 mm. Head: Labial palpus moderately long, porrect, curving slightly upward to immediately below middle of front; Lp1 short, curving upward, bright orange-yellow, with a ventral fringe of long yellow scales, dorsum black; Lp2 slightly longer than Lp1, glossy bluish black, with longer, yellow scales on ventral surface near base; Lp3 short, bullet shaped, bluish black; scales of front charcoal gray with a bluish iridescence; frontal scales long, pointing down from antennal bases, then horizontally to meet at midline; occiput charcoal gray; eye large and round, sparsely covered with microscopic setae; vertex black with a purplish-blue luster, scales long, pointing anteriorly; antenna bipectinate, rami fairly short, tightly spaced; scape with a fanlike tuft of charcoal gray, slightly iridescent blue scales; dorsum of antennal shaft tightly covered with glossy, blackish brown scales.

Thorax: Area of prothorax below proboscis yellow; legs and pleural region covered with long, hairlike, dark gray/iridescent turquoise scales; patagium, tegula, and dorsum covered with long, hairlike, charcoal-gray or iridescent cobalt-blue scales; scales along outer margins of tegula particularly long and fine.

Forewing: (Dorsal) Ground color black to blackish gray (pl. 26); wing veins lighter gray; a patch of iridescent, Windsor blue to violet blue scales in basal fourth, extending from cubitus anteriorly to anal margin posteriorly; an orange-yellow transverse band extending from midpoint of leading edge, slightly behind costa, to immediately short of tornus; transverse band crossing fork of M 1 and Rs 1 – Rs 4, as well as fork of M 3 and CuA 1, ending beyond apex of 1A+2A. (Ventral) Ground color gray to blackish gray (pl. 26); no iridescent blue patch at base; a large, ovoid androconial organ near base, covered with elongate, deciduous, yellowish-beige scales; area surrounding androconial patch, extending from DC to slightly below 1A+2A, scaleless, with a cellophane-like appearance.

Hind wing: (Dorsal) Ground color blackish gray to gray (pl. 26); from base to near outer margin covered with iridescent, Windsor blue to violet-blue scales; iridescent area extending from cubitus anteriorly to anal margin posteriorly; a large, ovoid androconial organ at base near anterior margin, covered with elongate, yellowish-beige scales; organ straddling Sc+R, its anterior margin falling short of wing’s leading edge, its posterior margin passing through DC to touch cubitus; a wide area surrounding androconial organ scaleless, its surface glistening gray. (Ventral) Ground color blackish gray to charcoal gray (pl. 26); posterior half of wing, from CuA 2 to anal margin, with a faint, bluish iridescence.

Abdomen: Dorsum uniformly charcoal gray, with a Windsor blue to turquoise iridescence; venter dark gray, with a turquoise iridescence.

Terminalia (fig. 293A–C, 293E): Tg8 narrower than Tg7, wider than St8, anterior margin with a wide, shallow mesal excavation, posterior margin with an indistinct, wide, U-shaped mesal excavation; St8 narrower posteriorly, lateral margins slightly constricted in distal third; anterior margin of St8 with an extremely long, thin mesal apodeme, almost as long as rest of sternum, posterior margin with a deep, U-shaped mesal excavation; socii/uncus complex with a fairly wide attachment to tegumen; uncus bent downward near base, distal portion long, thin, bent downward at apex, with a large, laterally compressed dorsal crest along midline near base; socii slightly shorter than uncus, each with a dorsal crest (matching that on uncus) near base, apices acute; ventral margin of genitalia slightly convex; valva bases broadly sclerotized, each with a knob on inner surface ventrally; BO large, outer margin broadly rounded; longitudinal sclerite of BO sinuate, with a large, sclerotized, toothlike ridge at dorsum; a large scale tuft in manica below transtillar arms; base of aedeagus angulate (not rounded), apex gradually narrow; vesica long, slightly narrower than aedeagus, with an almost 90 ° bend at distal third; vesica with a small, dentate, transverse sclerite at base near apex of aedeagus, a compact group of large, spinelike cornuti on right side before bend, and a large group of straight, spinelike cornuti on dorsal surface in distal third (beyond bend).

Female. FW length 5 21.5–25.0 mm. Head, thorax, and wings similar to male, except: Pleuron with a wide, longitudinal band of orange-yellow from behind eye to mesepimeron; antenna ciliate, shaft widening from base, then gradually tapered; wings longer, broader, and more rounded; androconial organs absent; blue iridescence of FW base and HW more extensive, orange-yellow transverse band of FW wider.

Terminalia (fig. 293D): Tg7 large and wide, slightly narrower at posterior margin, margins simple; St7 narrower than Tg7, slightly narrower posteriorly, margins simple; CB large, rounded, with a long, narrow dorsal sclerite, widening to form a broad Y at its apex, internal surface of sclerite minutely dentate; CB with a large, coriaceous, ventral sclerite near base, its lateral margins broadly rounded; junction between CB and DB forming a small, melanized, laterally compressed appendix on left side; DS attached at junction of DB and CB on right side; DB narrow; posterior margin of PA simple.

ETYMOLOGY: This species name comes from the moth’s larval host plant, Passiflora tica . The word tica is a Costa Rican term for ‘‘farmer’’.

DISTRIBUTION: Getta tica occurs on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca at elevations between 750 and 1100 meters, in regions of high humidity. Established localities in Costa Rica are confined to a small area (fig. 294) either in, or in close proximity to, Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo. Getta turrenti occurs in southern Mexico and Guatemala (fig. 296), and an as yet undescribed species exists in Honduras (see Discussion for G. turrenti ). The southernmost limits of G. tica have yet to be determined. A USNM female from Colón, on the Caribbean coast of Panama, is here provisionally considered to be an example of G. tica . The identity of Getta from the Pacific side of the Cordillera in Panama also remains unresolved.

BIOLOGY: In Costa Rica, G. tica is associated with Passiflora tica (pl. 40A, C–E). As is true of the other known hosts of Getta , this plant belongs in the Passiflora subgenus Astrophea (table 6). Getta tica shares this host with the butterfly Heliconius eleuchia ( Gómez and Gómez, 1981; DeVries, 1987). Getta tica females have been observed flying between 10 A. M. and 12 A. M., laying eggs on the undersides of new P. tica leaves (J. Corrales, October 2004). The host plants grow along shaded mountain streams on nearly vertical embankments.

On January 23, 2007, Jorge Corrales and I collected eggs of Getta tica , as well as those of Heliconius eleuchia , at the following locality: Costa Rica: Heredia: San Miguel, Bosque Alegre, Laguna de Hule, 750 m, 513200- 253300 LN. Two batches of eggs were found on Passiflora tica plants overhanging the Río Cariblanco (pl. 40A). In addition, numerous dead larvae of all instars were observed on P. tica leaves. They appeared to have been killed by a white fungus. The eggs hatched approximately one week later, but these larvae succumbed to the white fungus as they matured. None formed pupae or adults.

DISCUSSION: Although consistent wing-pattern differences appear to exist, the best way to separate G. baetifica and G. tica is by comparison of their genitalia. In both, the vesica of the aedeagus is elongate with a sharp bend part way out. The portion beyond the bend bears a large group of spinelike cornuti on its dorsal surface. This portion of the vesica in G. baetifica is long and relatively thin (longer than one-half the vesica length). In contrast, the portion beyond the bend in G. tica is shorter (fig. 293C), less than one-half the vesica length. In females, the large ventral plate of the CB is shorter and more broadly rounded in G. tica (fig. 293D). These genitalia traits, though subtle, seem to be reliable for separating the two species. Their Astrophea host plants differ as well; G. baetifica has been recorded on Passiflora macrophylla and P. arborea ( Ecuador), whereas caterpillars of G. tica feed exclusively on P. tica .

The identity of material from Panama requires additional study. Based on its wing coloring, a female specimen from Colón (USNM) is almost certainly G. tica . This location, on the Caribbean coast, is a logical extension of the Costa Rican habitat for G. tica , on the Caribbean side of the Cordillera Central. Specimens from the western side of the central ridge (USNM) in Panama are of indeterminate status. They potentially represent the northernmost range of G. baetifica , known from the Pacific slope in Colombia and Ecuador.

HOLOTYPE: Male (pl. 26). COSTA RICA: San Jose´: Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, La Montura, 1100 m, larva 1–2 instar coll. 13 Dec 1995, adult 30 Dec 1995, voucher no. 95-

JFCM-22, leg. J.F. Corrales ( INBio; genitalia slide no. JSM-1519 ). The type is deposited at the AMNH .

PARATYPES: COSTA RICA: San Jose´: 1♀, Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo , La Montura, 1100 m, larva 1–2 instar coll. 11 Dec 1995, adult 29 Dec 1995, voucher no. 95- JFCM-24, leg. J.F. Corrales ( INBio) ; 1♀, La Montura, Braulio Carrillo , 1000 m, 30 Jul 1982, leg. P. DeVries ( AMNH; genitalia slide no. JSM-564 ) ; 1♀, La Montura, Braulio Carrillo , 1000 m, 27 July 1982, leg. P.J. DeVries ( AMNH; genitalia slide no. JSM-1520 ) ; 1♀, Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo , 1050 m, 26 Jun 1980, leg. G.B. Small ( USNM) ; 1♀, 2 Jul 1980, leg. G.B. Small ( USNM) .

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: PANAMA: Panama: 1♀, Colón, 1500 ft, 23 Feb 1969, leg. G.B. Small (USNM).

DISSECTED: 233, 2♀♀.

Figures

Fig. 293. Genitalia of Getta tica, sp. nov. (3 JSM-1519, ♀ JSM-564). A, 3 genitalia; B, 3 Tg8; C, aedeagus; D, ♀ genitalia; E, 3 St8.

Fig. 294. Costa Rica, showing the known distribution of Getta tica, sp. nov.