Apisa (Parapisa), Parapisa Kiriakoff, 1952

Pasnik, Anna, Tarcz, Sebastian & Przybylowicz, Lukasz, 2023, A review of the subgenus Parapisa of Apisa (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) with description of a remarkable species from Cameroonian Highlands, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 81, pp. 371-394 : 371

Subgenus Parapisa Kiriakoff, 1952

Type species.

Apisa (Parapisa) bourgognei Kiriakoff, 1952: 173-175 (by original designation)

Diagnosis.

The subgenus differs from the two remaining subgenera viz. Apisa s. str. and Dufraneella Kiriakoff, 1953 by bifid uncus, which in the other subgenera is simple and sharply pointed.

Comments.

Subgenus A. (Parapisa) currently comprises three species, including the newly described one. Apisa (P.) subargentea Joicey and Talbot, 1921 was described from a single female, hence its subgeneric placement for a long time has been impossible to indicate, until male specimens collected in Kenya allowed for the correct allocation of this taxon to A. (Parapisa) ( Przybyłowicz and Kühne 2008). Also the genitalia of A. (P.) cinereocostata Holland, 1893 remained unknown for a long time, and only relatively recently this taxon was identified as a member of the subgenus A. (Parapisa) . Simultaneously, the genital and external similarities between A. (P.) cinereocostata and A. bourgognei lead to the conclusion that they represent the same taxon, which should bear the name A. (P.) cinereocostata ( Przybyłowicz 2009).

Taking into account lack of well-defined pattern on wings and body which might serve as a source of diagnostic characters, the differentiations between darker and paler coloration used in descriptions should be treated with reservation. The degree of colour saturation varies significantly depending on illumination, which combined with the overall uniformity of specimen coloration makes it very difficult to objectively compare darker and paler structures and the intensity of the differences.