Siculodes avicula Guenée, 1877

Queiroz-Santos, Luziany, Casagrande, Mirna Martins & Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik, 2024, Taxonomic revision of Siculodes Guenée and revalidation of Aziba Walker (Lepidoptera, Thyrididae, Siculodinae, Siculodini), Zootaxa 5543 (4), pp. 501-538 : 513-514

Siculodes avicula Guenée, 1877

( Figs 2 , 13 , 19 , 29 )

Siculodes avicula Guenée, 1877 . Annales de la Société entomologique de France, (5) 7: 293; 1 female [recte male] [holotype], Brazil, collection Guenée.— Pagenstecher, 1892. Deutsche entomologische Zeitschrift “Iris”, 5: 74, 127.— Whalley & Heppner, 1995, Thyridoidea, in Becker et al. Checklist: Part 2, Hyblaeoidea—Pyraloidea— Tortricoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera , 3: 31.

Risama avicula ; Hampson,1897. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1897 (1):630.— Dalla Torre, 1914. Lepidopterorum Catalogus, 20:41.— Gaede,1936, in Seitz. Die Gross -Schmetterlinge desAmerikanischen Faunengebietes. Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer, 6: 1208, fig. 175d (d) [misidentification].— Forbes, 1942. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, 90 (2): 350 [misidentification].

Taxonomic history. Guenée (1877) described the species without illustration, based on a female [recte male] [holotype] from Brazil; it was transferred to Risama by Hampson (1897) and returned to Siculodes by Whalley & Heppner (1995). The references to R. avicula in Gaede (1936) and Forbes (1942) are misidentifications of Aziba vehemensaria (H. Edwards, 1884) stat. rev. et comb. nov.

Type material. The male [holotype] was found in the NHMUK, with the author’s original labels matching the information provided in the original description. Holotype male with the following labels: / 1. Sicul. Avicula Gn. Cat Gn. N ° Brésil. Pálpes extrem grêles ácarrás à avoir indistinct le éperons trée zappzolud / Ex. Musaeo Ach. Guénée [sic]/ Ex Oberthür Coll. Brit. Mus. 1927—3. / Holotype / Holotype Siculodes avicula Guenee [sic] det. M. Shaffer, 1989 / NHMUK 010921101 /.

Diagnosis. Siculodes avicula can be easily distinguished from S. straminula and all its congeners by wings overall fawn and beige, irregular lines dark brown, more marked and intense on ventral surface, tornus regular on forewing ( Figs 2A–D ) and the fultura inferior distal margin serrated ( Fig. 13A ). In addition, by combination of following characters: i) saccus elongated in lateral view ( Fig. 13B ) and ii) bursa copulatrix membrane striated ( Fig. 19 ).

Redescription. Forewing: length—male 17.0–18.0 mm (n = 3), female de 16.0–20.0 mm (n = 3); apex less pronounced in females, and tornus sinuous; outer margin rounded, more pronounced in females; retinaculum above CuA.

Hindwing: length—male 9.0–11.0 mm (n = 3), female 8.0–15.0 mm (n = 3); outer margin slightly convex.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 13 ): tegumen with straight anterior and posterior margins and convex lateral margins in dorsal view; saccus elongated in lateral view; uncus with lateral elevation at base and distal third expanded and flattened in center; gnathos narrow and V-shaped in posterior view; valva with abundant bristles at apex, anterior portion sclerotized and with bristles, ventral margin sinuous; fultura inferior U-shaped, posterior margin with a serrated appearance with short and fine bristles; aedeagus curved downwards distally with a rectangular dorsal opening for ductus ejaculatorius, cornutus absent.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 19 ): tergite VIII rectangular in lateral view; lamella antevaginalis sclerotized; anterior and posterior apophyses equally long; antrum sclerotized, ductus bursae membranous progressively dilate to corpus bursae, five times longer than antrum, signum ( Fig. 29 ) rod-like; papilla analis wider than long.

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 43 ). BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro: Cachoeiras de Macacu, Valério —Rio Souza; Guapimirim, Barreira. São Paulo: Apiaí. Paraná: Guaratuba, Castelhanos . Santa Catarina : São Bento do Sul.

Natural history. Immature stages and host plant unknown. Based on label data, the species occurs in the Atlantic Forest and adults were caught in January, May, November, and December.

Examined material (3 ♂, 3 ♀).

BRAZIL: 1 ♂ ([Holotype] of Siculodes avicula ) , NHMUK 010921101 ( NHMUK); Rio de Janeiro: Cachoeiras de Macacu, Valério—Rio Souza , 1 ♂, 18.V.2010, N. Tangerini leg., DZ 39.386 ( DZUP) ; Guapimirim, Barreira , 1 ♀, 1.XII.1956, 350m, Pearson H. & G. leg ., NHMUK 010921100 ( NHMUK). São Paulo: Apiaí, 1 ♀, 12.I.2006, 750m, C. Mielke leg. , CCGM 27.933 ( CCGM). Paraná: Guaratuba, Castelhanos , 1 ♂, 30.XI.1997, 500m, H. Thöny leg., MWM 19.219 ( MWM). Santa Catarina: São Bento do Sul, 1 ♀, Ivo Rank leg. ( IR) .

Figures

FIGURE 43. Geographic distribution of Siculodes in central-southeastern South America.

FIGURES 1–2. Adults of Siculodes in dorsal (A and C) and ventral (B and D) views. Depositories of the specimens: 1A–B in DZUP (DZ 39.286); 1C–D in DZUP (DZ 39.326). 2A–B in DZUP (DZ 39.386); 2C–D in NHMUK (NHMUK 010921100). Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURES 12–14. Male genitalia of Siculodes. 12. S. aurorula from Brazil, Santa Catarina, Joinville (DZ 39.286). 13. S. avicula from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Cachoeiras de Macacu (Valério - Rio Souza) (DZ 39.386). 14. S. eurymenana from Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Morro Reuter (Fazenda Padre Eterno) (DZ 34.078). A) posterior view. B) lateral view. C) inner view of valva. D) dorsal view of tegumen and uncus. E) dorsal view of aedeagus. F) lateral view of aedeagus. G) cornuti. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 18–20. Female genitalia of Siculodes in lateral view. 18. S. aurorula from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Petrópolis (Independência) (DZ 39.458). 19. S. avicula from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Guapimirim, (Barreira) (NHMUK 010921100). 20. S. eurymenana from Brazil, Goiás, Campinaçu (Fazenda Barra Mansa) (DZ 39.304). Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURES 28–33. Signa of Siculodes. 28. S. aurorula from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Petrópolis (Independência) (DZ 39.458). 29. S. avicula from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Guapimirim (Barreira) (NHMUK 010921100). 30. S. eurymenana from Brazil, Goiás, Campinaçu (Fazenda Barra Mansa) (DZ 39.304). 31. S. satellifera, holotype from Brazil, Minas Gerais,Araguari (MSFR). Scale bar = 1 mm. 32. S. straminula from Brazil, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Brilhante (VOB 30206). 33. S. subchalybaea stat. rev. from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Guapimirim (Barreira) (DZ 39.294). Scale bar = 0,5 mm.