Victrix svetlanae Koshkin & Pekarsky, 2020

Koshkin, Evgeny S. & Pekarsky, Oleg, 2020, Victrix svetlanae sp. n., a new species of Bryophilinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from Far East of Russia, Zootaxa 4750 (4), pp. 585-590 : 585-590

Victrix svetlanae Koshkin & Pekarsky sp. n.

( Figs 1 , 3–9 , 13–16 )

Type material. Holotype ( Fig. 3 ): ♂, Russia, Khabarovsk Krai, Verkhnebureinsky district, Bureinsky Nature Reserve, Dusse-Alin Mountains , riverhead of the Pravaya Bureya river , Novyi Medvezhii cordon, 52°07’56” N, 134°17’30” E, 877 m, 6.VII.2016, leg. E. Koshkin, slide OP 3757m (Coll. ZISP).

Paratypes. 1 ♂, with same locality and collector as holotype, 27. VI.2014 (Coll. EK) ; 1 ♂, same locality and collector, 3.VII.2018 ( IBSS) ; 1 ♂, same locality and collector, 4.VII.2018 (Coll. EK) ; 3 ♂♂, same locality and collector, 7.VII.2018 (Colls EK, OP, IBSS) ; 2 ♂♂, same locality and collector, 9.VII.2018 (Colls OP, ZMMU) ; 1 ♂, same locality and collector, 11.VII.2018 (Coll. EK) ; 1 ♂, 5 ♀♀, same locality and collector, 12.VII.2018 (colls EK, HNHM, IBSS, OP, ZISP) .

Diagnosis. Externally the new species resembles V. umovii ( Eversmann, 1846) (type locality: Russia, Ulyanovsk Region) ( Figs 2 , 11, 12 ) and V. patula ( Püngeler, 1907) (type locality: China, Xinjiang, North from Korla) ( Fig. 10 ) but with dark-grey ground colour of forewings, coloration more diffuse, with fewer serrate crosslines and spots. It differs from V. patula in its smaller size, absence of gray-greenish scales of ground colour of forewings, less acute serration of crosslines and from V. umovii by absence of green colour in forewings, by straighter, less dentate antemedial and postmedial lines with noticeable concavity in upper part of postmedial line near reniform spot, and less distance between orbicular and reniform spots ( Figs 1, 2 ). The male genitalia of V. svetlanae differ from those of V. umovii and V. patula by shorter, less curved valva with sub-parallel margins, broad sacculus with rounded costal margin and rhomboid juxta broadened medially, larger, longer cornutus than in V. patula and larger, broader base of terminal divertuculum ( Figs 18, 19 ). In related species, valvae are longer and more curved with elongate, narrow sacculus with straight costal margin, and near deltoid, plate-like juxta. The female genitalia of V. svetlanae differ from V. umovii by a longer ovipositor, a larger and wider antrum, wider ductus bursae and appendix bursae ( Fig. 17 ). The female of V. patula is unknown.

Description. Adult ( Figs 3–9 ). Wingspan 24–30 mm in males (28,5 mm in holotype; average 27,4 mm, n = 11) and 25,5–28 mm in females (average 26,7 mm, n = 5). Forewing length 12–15,5 mm in males (14,5 mm in holotype; average 14 mm) and 12–14 mm in females (average 13,2 mm). Head small and rounded. Antennae filiform. Palpi very short. Proboscis reduced. Head, thorax and abdomen grey covered with whitish scales. Forewing broad, costal margin slightly arcuate; apex pointed. Ground colour of the forewings greyish, diffused with blackish-grey scales. Subbasal line black, wavy; basal field small, greyish; antemedial line oblique, curved in the middle, blackish-grey, inner side with whitish fascia; antemedial field greyish; postmedial line black, strongly wavy-curved, moderately serrated, outer side is whitish; medial field is well differentiated, greyish, between dorsum and vein Cu 2 with large blackish diffuse spot; orbicular and reniform spots dark grey with diffuse margins; subterminal and terminal lines as rows of diffused dark grey spots. Cilia checkered dark grey between veins, whitish opposite veins. Hindwing pale greyish with narrow diffused medial line and u-shaped discal spot. Terminal band wide, weakly expressed. Cilia as the ground colour. Underside of forewing almost unicolorous dark grey, reniform spot, postmedial and subterminal lines weakly expressed. Underside of hindwing pale grey, lighter than forewing. Medial line and terminal band somewhat darker than ground colour. Discal spot well distinguishable, dark grey. Females in average have more diffuse wing pattern. Male genitalia ( Figs 13–15 ). Uncus long, broad, laterally flattened, with apex pointed. Tegumen broad; vinculum wide, V-shaped. Juxta large, rhomboid, broad medially, with small acute tip in the middle of anterior margin. Valva symmetrical, wide with sub- parallel margins, apex broad, covered with dense hair-like setae, with two or three small dents, pointed with short down-directed apical processus. Sacculus broad, its costal margin smoothly rounded. Aedeagus long, practically straight, tubular; vesica membranous with wrinkled area in terminal part, elongated, tubular with one short and broad subterminal diverticulum with long, narrow cornutus. Female genitalia ( Fig. 16 ). Ovipositor large, longer than in V. umovii , relatively wide, quadrangular, papilla anales covered with thin setae. Posterior and anterior apophyses long, narrow; anterior apophyses shorter than posterior ones. Posterior apophyses roughly twice as long as ovipositor. Antrum large, sclerotized, 1,9 times as long as wide. Ductus bursae short and wide. Corpus bursae saccate; appendix bursae short, broad, sclerotized.

Bionomics. Victrix svetlanae sp. n. has been found in boreal mountainous larch forest with green mosses, cowberry ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea ) and marsh tea ( Ledum palustre ) in lower layers, at about 900 m altitude ( Fig. 20 ). Adults fly from late June to mid-July. All specimens were attracted to the light of mercury arc lamp DRL 250 watt in the warm nights (+13 … 16 °C). Moths collected only in even years so far. Possibly the larva develops over two years as similar species V. umovii . The preimaginal stages and larval host plants unknown.

Distribution. Bureinsky Nature Reserve ( Russia, Khabarovsk Krai).

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to the memory of Svetlana Vladimirovna Koshkina (1963–2014), mother of the first author.

Notes. A male collected in the North-Eastern Yakutia (Cherskogo Range, mountain massive Chen) and identified as Victrix frigidalis Varga & Ronkay, 1991 ( Kononenko, 2005, 2016) according to its genital characteristics most likely belongs to V. svetlanae sp. n. Unfortunately, the condition of this male is very poor, and the wing pattern is almost indistinguishable. Thus, V. svetlanae sp. n. probably have widespread but sporadic distribution in boreal zone of northern part of the Russian Far East and Eastern Yakutia (Republic of Sakha).

Figures

FIGURE 20. Habitat of Victrix svetlanae: Russia, Khabarovsk Krai, Verkhnebureinsky district, Bureinsky Nature Reserve, Dusse-Alin Mountains, riverhead of the Pravaya Bureya river, Novyi Medvezhii cordon, 52°07’56” N, 134°17’30” E, the type locality, 7.VII.2016 (photo by E. Koshkin).

FIGURES 1–2. Victrix spp., forewing pattern. 1, V. svetlanae, paratype ♂, Russia, Khabarovsk Krai, Verkhnebureinsky district, Bureinsky Nature Reserve, 7.VII.2018; 2, V. umovii, ♂, Russia, Saratov Region, Yeruslan Riv. val., 10 km N from Staraya Poltavka, 23.V.2001. a—form of antemedial line, b—distance between orbicular and reniform spots, c—form of postmedial line with concavity in upper part.

FIGURES 3–12. Victrix spp., adults. 3, V. svetlanae, holotype ♂, Russia, Khabarovsk Krai, Verkhnebureinsky district, Burein- sky Nature Reserve, 6.VII.2016 (Coll. ZISP); 4, V. svetlanae, paratype ♂, same locality, 7.VII.2018 (Coll. EK); 5, V. svetlanae, paratype ♂, same locality, 11.VII.2018 (Coll. EK); 6, V. svetlanae, paratype ♂, same locality, 7.VII.2018 (Coll. OP); 7–9, V. svetlanae, paratypes ♀, same locality, 12.VII.2018 (Colls EK, OP); 10, V. patula, syntype ♂, China, Xinjiang, North from Korla (Coll. MNHU); 11, V. umovii, holotype ♀, Russia, Ulyanovsk Region (Coll. ZISP); 12, V. umovii, ♂, Russia, Saratov Region, Yeruslan Riv. val., 10 km N from Staraya Poltavka, 23.V.2001 (Coll. P. Gyulai).

FIGURES 13–19. Genitalia of Victrix species. 13, V. svetlanae, holotype ♂, Russia, Khabarovsk Krai, Verkhnebureinsky dis- trict, Bureinsky Nature Reserve (slide OP3757m); 14, V. svetlanae, paratype ♂, same locality, 7.VII.2018 (slide OP4293m); 15, V. svetlanae, paratype ♂, same locality, 27.VI.2014 (photo by E. Koshkin); 16, V. svetlanae, paratype ♀, same locality, 12.VII.2018 (slide OP4294f); 17, V. umovii, holotype ♀, Russia, Simb[irsk] [Ulyanovsk Region] (from Volynkin et al., 2019); 18, V. umovii, ♂, Russia, Saratov Region, Yeruslan Riv. val., 10 km N from Staraya Poltavka (slide OP3824m); 19, V. patula, syntype ♂, China, Xinjiang, North from Korla (slide MB280 Ch. Boursin, remounted by Oleg Pekarsky).