Penestola bufalis ( Guenée, 1854 ), Guenee, 1854

Bernard Landry, 2016, Taxonomic revision of the Spilomelinae (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae s. l.) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Revue suisse de Zoologie 123 (2), pp. 315-399 : 365-367

Penestola bufalis ( Guenée, 1854)

Figs 44, 45 , 120 , 166

Stenia bufalis Guenée, 1854: 245 .

Piletocera bufalis (Guenée) : Schaus, 1923: 29. ‒ Parkin et al., 1972: 105. ‒ Linsley & Usinger, 1966: 162.

Penestola bufalis (Guenée) : Peck et al., 1998: 227. ‒ Causton et al., 2006: 141. ‒ Roque-Albelo & Landry, 2015.

Material examined

Syntypes: 3 ♀ ( BMNH).

Other specimens: 5 ♂, 20 ♀, 26 of undetermined sex from the Galápagos Islands: – Española: Hood [no precise locality]. – Fernandina: Punta Espinosa; [no precise locality]. – Isabela: n[ea]r. Punta Tortuga, N Tagus Cove, edge of mangrove swamp, among Bursera graveolans; Puerto Villamil; 1 km W Puerto Villamil; 2 km W Puerto Villamil; Albermarle, San[to] Tomas, 1200 f[ee]t. alt [itude]. – Pinzón: [no precise locality]. – Santa Cruz: Bahía Conway ; littoral zone, Tortuga Bay; Charles Darwin Research Station, wall on Invert[ebrate]s Lab[oratory]., GPS: elev[ation]. 11 m, S 00° 44.478’, W 90° 18.132’; CDRS; vic[inity]. Mirador, 620 m; Indefatigable [no precise locality]. – Santiago: Cerro Inn; James Bay. – Seymour Norte: Arid zone. Deposited in AMNH, CAS, CDRS, CNC, MCZ, and MHNG.

Diagnosis: Measuring 16-17 mm in wingspan for the available males ( Fig. 44 ) and 17-20 mm for the females ( Fig. 45 ), specimens of this species can be somewhat difficult to separate from the four other Galápagos species harbouring brown wings with darker markings. The key provided above under Herpetogramma phaeopteralis (Guenée) will help in this respect.

Biology: There are no records on the natural history of this species in the literature or on the Internet. Specimens were reared from seeds of Black Mangrove, Avicennia germinans (L.) L. ( Acanthaceae ) on Isabela, by L. Roque-Albelo (deposited in CDRS) (Roque- Albelo, 2006). In the Galápagos moths were collected mostly near sea level in anthropized habitats and others (Isabela, Cerro Inn and Española) only modified by introduced mammal species such as goats. Collecting dates of the Galápagos specimens are in January, March, April, and May.

Distribution: Described from French Guyana, there are specimens in the BMNH also from Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, and many islands of the Antilles. Patterson et al. (2015) also report it from south Florida and south Texas. In the Galápagos the species is known from Española, Fernandina, Isabela, Pinzón, Santa Cruz, Santiago, and Seymour Norte.

Remarks: This species was described from four females from Cayenne, French Guiana and three of them are in the BMNH. One of these lost its abdomen and the other two have theirs in a gelatine capsule. Their external characters match those of the Galápagos specimen that I compared with them. I refrain from designating a lectotype for this taxon because it is well characterized and the fourth syntype may still turn up and have its abdomen attached.

Figures

Figs 41 - 48. Neotropical specimens of Spilomelinae, size not to scale. (41, 42) Omiodes indicata. (41) ♂, Galápagos, Tagus Cove, emerged ex pupa on Desmodium glabrum, 20 - 25. v. 1992, MHNG. (42) ♀, Galápagos, Pinta, ± 50 m, 20. iii. 1992, MHNG. (43) Patania silicalis ♀, Galápagos, Alcedo, NE slope, 292 m, 30. iii. 2004, MHNG. (44, 45) Penestola bufalis. (44) ♂, Galápagos, Santiago, Cerro Inn, 28. iii. 1992, MHNG. (45) ♀, Galápagos, Santa Cruz, CDRS, wall of Inverts. lab., 11 m, 6. iv. 2004, MHNG. (46, 47) Pilocrocis ramentalis. (46) ♂, Venezuela, Aragua, PN H. - Pittier, Estacion Rancho Grande, 1100 m, 15. vii. 2009, MHNG. (47) ♀, Galápagos, Santa Cruz, E. C. C. D., 6. iii. 1992, MHNG. (48) Psara chathamalis ♀, Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Bahía Conway, 14. iv. 1992, MHNG.

Figs 119 - 121. Male genitalia of Galápagos Spilomelinae, a and b from same slides, but not to scale, (a) showing the genitalia without phallus and (b), the phallus. (119) Patania silicalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8989, Pinta. (120) Penestola bufalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8991, Santiago. (121) Pilocrocis ramentalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8992, Santiago.

Figs 163 - 167. Female genitalia of Neotropical Spilomelinae, not to scale. (163) Omiodes indicata: slide MHNG-ENTO- 9008, Galápagos, Isabela. (164) Palpita flegia: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8998, Colombia. (165) Patania silicalis: slide MHNG- ENTO- 8990, Galápagos, Isabela. (166) Penestola bufalis: slide CNC PYR 362, Galápagos, Santa Cruz. (167) Pilocrocis ramentalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8695, Galápagos, San Cristóbal.