Siculodes subchalybaea ( Walker, 1865 ), 2024

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 : 518-519

Siculodes subchalybaea ( Walker, 1865) stat. rev.

( Figs 6 , 23 , 33 , 44 )

Vadata subchalybaea Walker, 1865 . List of the specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 32: 517; holotype male [recte female], Rio [de] Janeiro, [ Brazil], Rev. H. Clark leg.

Siculodes subchalybaea ; Guenée, 1877. Annales de la Société entomologique de France, (5) 7: 294.— Pagenstecher, 1892. Deutsche entomologische Zeitschrift “Iris”, 5: 75.

Risama eurymenana ; Hampson, 1897. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1897 (1): 630; syn.: subchalybaea .— Gaede, 1936, in Seitz. Die Gross -Schmetterlinge des Amerikanischen Faunengebietes. Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer, 6: 1208, fig. 175c (d); syn.: subchalybaea .— Dalla Torre, 1914. Lepidopterorum Catalogus, 20: 41; syn.: subchalybaea .

Siculodes eurymenanus [sic]; Whalley & Heppner, 1995, Thyridoidea, in Becker et al. Checklist: Part 2, Hyblaeoidea—Pyraloidea—Tortricoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera , 3: 31; syn.: subchalybaea .

Taxonomic history. Walker (1865) described the species from Rio de Janeiro [ Brazil] based on one male without illustration. Transferred to Siculodes by Guenée (1877) and to Risama , as a synonym for R. eurymenana , by Hampson (1897), returned to Siculodes still as a synonym of eurymenanus [sic] by Whalley & Heppner (1995).

Taxonomic comments. Hampson (1897), Dalla Torre (1914), Gaede (1936), and Whalley & Heppner (1995) consider Siculodes subchalybaea as a synonym of Siculodes eurymenana . After examining the wing morphology and female genitalia of the holotypes of both species and another specimen of S. subchalybaea , we concluded that S. subchalybaea is a distinct species from S. eurymenana and, therefore, S. subchalybaea stat. rev. has its status revalidated herein.

Type material. A holotype female was found in NHMUK, not male as in the description, with the author’s original labels matching the information provided in the original description with the following labels: / Vadata subchalybaea / Brazil Rio Janeiro Ver. H. Clark / Holotype / Holotype Vadata s ubchalybaea Walker det. M. Shaffer, 1989 / NHMUK 010921095 /.

Diagnosis. Siculodes subchalybaea stat. rev. can be easily distinguished from S. eurymenana and all its congeners by wings overall brown, as the tegulae, forewing four dark brown stripes on both surfaces as in S. eurymenana , but in the latter there is only two, and on dorsal surface with two light brown longitudinal bands ( Figs 6A–B ). In addition, by combination of the following characters: i) hindwing sinuous dark brown stripe on both surfaces and ii) bursa copulatrix striated membrane ( Fig. 23 ).

Redescription. Forewing: length—female 18.0 mm (n = 2); outer margin sinuous; four dark brown stripes on both surfaces, two proximal short, one basal and one postbasal, thicker from costa to lower discal cell, then sharply narrowed until 2A, one discal, thicker, expanding gently from costa to inner margin, and one postdiscal tapering smoothly from apex to CuA 1; dorsal surface with two light brown longitudinal bands, one along costal margin reaching near apex, and one along inner margin from base to tornus; retinaculum above CuA.

Hindwing: length—female 11.0–13.0 mm (n = 2); ventral surface with a light brown subasal stripe between costal margin to near inner margin; both surfaces with a discal dark brown sinuous stripe from middle of costal margin to middle of inner margin, as a continuation of forewing discal stripe.

Male genitalia unknown.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 23 ): tergite VIII square in lateral view; anterior and posterior apophyses equally long; bursa copulatrix membranous except antrum, corpus bursae rounded and well distinct from ductus bursae, signum rounded with border serrate ( Fig. 33 ); papilla analis as wide as long.

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 44 ). BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro: Guapimirim, Barreira.

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

Examined material (2 ♀).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro: 1 ♀ (Lectotype), Rev. H. Clark leg., NHMUK 010921095 ( NHMUK), Guapimirim, Barreira , 1 ♀, 20.II.1955, Gagarin leg., DZ 39.294 ( DZUP) .

Figures

FIGURE 44. Geographic distribution of Siculodes in central-southeastern Brazil.

FIGURES 4–6. Adults of Siculodes in dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views. Depositories of the specimens: 4A–B in OM (OM 8722). 5A–B in VOB (VOB 30206). 6A–B in DZUP (DZ 39.294). Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURES 21–23. Female genitalia of Siculodes in lateral view. 21. S. satellifera, holotype from Brazil, Minas Gerais, Araguari (MSFR). 22. S. straminula from Brazil, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Brilhante (VOB 30206). 23. S. subchalybaea stat. rev. from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Guapimirim (Barreira) (DZ 39.294). 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.