Trabala niphanae variabilis, Spitsyn & Kondakov & Soboleva & Spitsyna, 2023

Spitsyn, Vitaly M., Kondakov, Alexander V., Soboleva, Alena A. & Spitsyna, Elizaveta A., 2023, The tegumen morphology is inappropriate as a diagnostic character for Trabala niphanae-inga-pinratanai sp. group (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), Ecologica Montenegrina 68, pp. 88-91 : 90-91

Trabala niphanae variabilis ssp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:68FE8304-6E39-4563-B0AB-3E39C770E7B5

Figs 1-2

Type material. Holotype male RMBH Sph 1021: LAOS, Sekong province, Lamam town , dry monsoon forest, 15°21'39"N, 106°42'45"E, 25- 27.12.2022, E. Spitsyna & V. Spitsyn leg. Paratypes RMBH Sph 1022, Sph 1062- Sph 1063: LAOS, Sekong province, Lamam town , dry monsoon forest, 15°21'39"N, 106°42'45"E, 25- 27.12.2022, E. Spitsyna & V. Spitsyn leg., 3♂ ; RMBH Sph 1019- Sph 1021, Sph 1064- Sph 1071 (imagoes were obtained by pupation of larvae): LAOS, Champasak province, Wopakok Hotel , dry monsoon forest and agricultural landscapes, 14°59'59"N, 105°51'28"E, 12.2022, E. Spitsyna & V. Spitsyn leg., 7♂ 3♀ .

Diagnosis. The new subspecies differs from the nominate one by larger size and green coloration (vs a small size and yellow-green coloration in nominate subspecies). Females have a gray-brown coloration.

Description. Male morphology: Wingspan 38-46 mm, forewing length 18-23 mm. Eye gray. Antenna light brown. Head light brown-green or olive. Labial palpus light brown-green (its length equal to two eye’s diameter). Thorax green. Patagium and tegula green. Outer side of legs green, inner side of legs light brown-green ventrally, tarsus light brown-green. Forewing upperside usually green, but sometimes light gray-green; antemedial and postmedial lines clear; subterminal line dashed. Forewing underside light green, almost white in the basal and anal areas; antemedial line lacks; postmedial line unclear; subterminal line dashed. Hindwing upperside light green, creamy in the anal area; medial line clear; subterminal line dashed. Hindwing underside light green; postmedial line clear, curved; subterminal line dashed. Abdomen light green. Male genitalia: The male genitalia typical for the genus. Tegumen wide, with two tergal appendages (tergal appendages are coalescent in some specimens). Aedeagus long, thin, curved apically, the basal part wide. Female morphology: Wingspan 42-44 mm, forewing length 23-25 mm. Eye light brown. Antenna light brown. Head light brown. Labial palpus light brown, short (its length equal to eye’s diameter). Thorax light brown or olive. Patagium and tegula green light brown or olive. Legs light brown or olive. Forewing upperside from light brown to gray-yellow-green; antemedial and postmedial lines unclear; subterminal line dashed. Forewing underside gray-brown; subterminal line dashed. Hindwing upperside from light brown to gray-yellow-green; medial and subterminal lines unclear. Hindwing underside with the same pattern as hindwing upperside, but medial line slightly shifted to outer margin. Abdomen gray-yellow.

Reference COI barcode sequence. GenBank acc. no. OR129994-OR129997.

Distribution. Laos: Sekong and Champasak provinces.

Figures

Figure 1. Trabala niphanae variabilis ssp. nov. from Laos: A) Male, holotype (Sekong province, Lamam town); B–D) Males, paratypes (Sekong province, Lamam town); E–I) Males, paratypes (Champasak province, Wopakok); J–L) Females, paratypes (Champasak province, Wopakok). Scale bar = 10 mm.

Figure 2. Male genitalia of Trabala niphanae variabilis ssp. nov. from Laos: A) Holotype (Sekong province, Lamam town); B–D) Paratypes (Sekong province, Lamam town); E–I) Paratypes (Champasak province, Wopakok).