Pierella lamia

Zacca, Thamara, Siewert, Ricardo R., Casagrande, Mirna M., Mielke, Olaf H. H. & Paluch, Márlon, 2016, Taxonomic revision of the “ Pierella lamia species group ” (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) with descriptions of four new species from Brazil, Zootaxa 4078 (1), pp. 366-386 : 367

The “ Pierella lamia species group”

This group comprises P. lamia , P. chalybaea stat. rest., P. boliviana stat. nov., P. angeloi sp. nov., P. kesselringi sp. nov., P. n i ce sp. nov. and P. keithbrowni sp. nov. The wing colour pattern of these species are similar to P. astyoche (Erichson, [1849]) and P. luna ( Fabricius, 1793) , but can be immediately distinguished from the former by the absence of a transverse band on both wings underside and by the absence of ringlet ocelli on hind wings, and from P. luna by the presence of four or five even-sized black ocelli with white pupils in each one on DHW.

The “ Pierella lamia species group” is characterized by the following features: post-genal area white; eyes glabrous and brown; antennae glabrous; thorax dorsally brown and ventrally white. FW shape: triangular, costal margin convex, apex rounded, outer margin convex and inner margin straight. DFW with a variable extension of the yellow stain in discal cell or beyond it; wings with three lines located in the postbasal, submedian and postmedian areas, from costal margin to inner margin, with distinct thickness; postbasal line darker than the other lines and discontinuous in discal cell; post-discal line diagonal, between Radius and M3. FW with a black small spot in proximal area of the discal cell. VFW with two or three submarginal small, white incomplete ocelli in R5- M1, M1-M2 and M2-M3. HW shape: costal margin convex, apex rounded and outer margin crenulated between M1- CuA2, tornus rounded and inner margin convex. DHW with an androconial patch between 2A and inner margin, differing in size and shape on the central area in each species, surrounded by creamy scales; five or four submarginal incomplete ocelli in M1-M2, M2-M3, M3-CuA1, CuA1-CuA2 and CuA2-2A, the last three might be faded or not. VHW between postmedian line and outer margin the same colour or darker than the background, five or four small white pupils in submarginal area; fringes dark brown. Abdomen dorsally brown, ventrally lighter. Except for P. boliviana stat. nov., the male genitalia has a similar morphology in all species of this group, with tegumen laterally sub-squared, almost same length of uncus; gnathos absent; anterior projection of saccus elongated and cylindrical; valva two times length of uncus with elongated bristles ventrally, inner side with an evident spine in distal area, apex pointed or truncated and serrated, dorsal projection serrated or with small teeth; aedeagus straight, same length of valva, with a dorso-laterally opening for the vesica, serrated at margin. In fact, the male genitalia seems somewhat homogeneous in Pierella (see illustrations in Brown 1948 and Constantino 1995), with subtle differences on uncus size and valvae shape. In female genitalia, sternum VIII could be fused or not with tergum VIII; papillae anales sclerotized at the basal area, covered by variable size setae in the distal area; ductus bursae membranous or sclerotized with variable length relative to the corpus bursae length; paired signa variable in size and position in the corpus bursae.