Miltochrista lampra, Volynkin & Černý & Huang & Saldaitis, 2023

Volynkin, Anton V, Černý, Karel, Huang, Si-Yao & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2023, Thirteen new species of the genus Miltochrista Hübner from Indochina, China, Myanmar and India (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 68, pp. 12-37 : 13-14

Miltochrista lampra sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2BD2D992-1657-400E-9E02-E9645DFBFD0C

( Figs 1, 2 , 50 , 82 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 1 , 50 ): male, “ VIII.2013, | Central Vietnam, | Th ừa Thiên-Huế Prov., | 8,5 km S of Hue City, | 20m, 16°23'16.91''N | 107°35'13.70''E | local collector leg.” / “Slide | AV7407 ♂ | A. Volynkin ” ( WIGJ, ex CAV).

Paratype. VIETNAM: female, Tonkin occ., Reg. de Hoa Binh, R . P.A. de Cooman, 1918 / Ex Oberthür Coll., Brit. Mus. 1927–3., unique ID: NHMUK010292586 , gen. prep. No.: NHMUK0104331722 ( NHMUK) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 9.5 mm in both sexes. Miltochrista lampra sp. n. ( Figs 1, 2 ) is vaguely reminiscent of some other relatively large and reddish species of the genus (viz., M. nuiba sp. n., M. pingera Bucsek, 2012 , M. parallelinaformis Bucsek, 2020 , and M. soloma sp. n.) ( Figs 4–12 ) but can easily be distinguished by its longer antenna (in proportion to the forewing length) and the bright crimson red colouration of both wings whereas in the similar congeners, the forewing is paler and the hindwing is pale pink or yellowish-pink. The male genitalia of the new species ( Fig. 5 ) are most similar to the externally different M. nigrococcinea Bayarsaikhan, Volynkin & Bae, 2019 ( Figs 3 , 51 ), from which the genital capsule of M. lampra sp. n. differs in the large dorsal crest of the costa, the markedly longer and broader subapical setose cluster, the broader, apically rounded and rather foot-shaped distal costal process (it is apically pointed with a thorn-like smaller ventral lobe in M. nigrococcinea ), and the somewhat shorter and distally thicker distal saccular process. Additionally, the uncus of the new species is slightly narrower, the apical process of the juxta is somewhat longer, and the vinculum is longer than the corresponding structures of M. nigrococcinea . As the female of M. nigrococcinea is unknown, the female genitalia of M. lampra sp. n. ( Fig. 82 ) were compared with the externally similar M. nuiba ( Fig. 83 ) and M. pingera ( Fig. 84 ) instead, and the new species can easily be distinguished from the aforementioned congeners by the heavily sclerotised antevaginal area of the 7 th abdominal sternite, the elongate and posteriorly narrower antrum, and the smaller corpus bursae with an elongate and utricular appendix bursae.

Distribution. Vietnam (Thừa Thiên Huế and Hòa Bình Provinces).

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek ‘λαμπρόσ’ meaning ‘bright’ and refers to the bright crimson red colouration of both wings. The name is a noun in the nominative singular in apposition to the generic name.

Figures

Figures 1–15. Miltochrista spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 1, 4 and 10 in WIGJ (ex CAV); 2 and 3 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 5, 6, 11 and 12 in CAV; 7 in MWM/ZSM; 8, 9, 14 and 15 in CKC; 13 in SNM (after Bucsek 2020).

Figures 50–53. Miltochrista spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 50 and 52 in WIGJ (ex CAV); 51 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 53 in MWM/ZSM.

Figures 82–85. Miltochrista spp.: female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 82 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 83 in CAV; 84 and 85 in MWM/ZSM.