Leucanella bonillensis Decaëns and Rougerie, 2008

Decaëns, Thibaud & Rougerie, Rodolphe, 2008, Descriptions of two new species of Hemileucinae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from the region of Muzo in Colombia-evidence from morphology and DNA barcodes, Zootaxa 1944 (1), pp. 34-52 : 40-44

Leucanella bonillensis Decaëns and Rougerie , new species

Figs. 3–4 and 7–9

Type material. Holotype, male: Colombia, Boyacá department, Municipio de Quipama, Vereda Caviche , alt. 1500 m. a.s.l., 1–3.xii.2002, attracted to UV light, D. Bonilla and G. Lecourt leg.; genital prep. TD#171; barcode sequence BC-Dec0005/ SATWA037-06 . Deposited in the INCN.

Paratypes: 2 males, same data as the holotype; one with a barcode sequence available (BC-Dec0006/ SATWA038-06 ). Deposited in the collections of the authors .

Diagnosis. Based on its small size and the sharp apex of the forewings, Leucanella bonillensis n. sp. is most closely related to Leucanella acutissima and Leucanella newmani ( Figs. 5, 6 ). It can be distinguished from these species by some consistent characters which are summarized in Table 4. Externally, L. bonillensis is slightly larger than both relatives, has less elongated and falcate forewings, and possesses a larger eyespot on the hindwing ( Figs. 3, 5-6 ). Other diagnostic characters are the larger peri-ocellar yellow ring, compared to the narrow one that characterises both L. acutissima and L. newmani ( Lemaire 2002) , and the faint trace of pupil and lines on the ventral side of the hindwings ( Figs. 4–6 ). L. bonillensis and L. acutissima also are separated clearly from L. newmani by the more pre-apical position of the forewing postmedial line ( Figs. 3, 5-6 ). Although genitalia show little variation within the genus (see discussion), we found characters that may help to distinguish L. bonillensis from L. acutissima . From the few specimens available for dissection (2 specimens of each species) and according to description of Lemaire (2002), we observed a longer bulbus ejaculatorius in L. bonillensis than in L. acutissima ( Figs. 9, 12 ), and a greater development of the costal lobe of the valves ( Figs. 7, 10 ). However, observations on a larger number of specimens will be necessary to assess the reliability of these genitalia features. On the other hand, we did not find any significant difference in male genitalia morphology between the new species and L. newmani ( Figs. 7–9, 13–15 ).

between each of the species of the genus Leucanella included in our dataset.

Description. Male ( Figs. 3–4 ). Wingspan: 79–80 mm. Head: Olive to brownish grey, labial palpi of the same colour, antennae dull yellow. Thorax: Ventral side olive to brownish grey; legs slightly darker. Forewing length from base to apex 40 mm, elongated and falcate, with straight margin and sharp apex; above ground colour greyish; lines dark brown, the antemedial slightly lighter than the postmedial, both bordered by a line of orange scales on their facing edges, the antemedial convex, the postmedial straight and reaching the costa close to the apex; large and rectangular disco-cellular mark, slightly darker than the surrounding wing surface and externally bordered with a thin line of light scales. Hindwing with baso–medial area grey lighter near the costal margin; median area marked by a large eyespot, its iris large, red brown, with a multiple black pupil suffused with white scales, surrounded by a large and black peri-ocellar ring and an outer narrower light yellow ring; postmedial line wavy, black, followed by a narrow strip of grey scales; postmedial area reddish brown; marginal band grey. Ventral side greyish; forewing marked with a black postmedial line and a large and rounded black discal spot, marked in its centre by a large white point; hindwing uniformly greyish and devoid of remnant pupil. Abdomen: Ventral side olive to brownish grey; dorsal side slightly darker.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 7–9 ). Uncus ( Figs. 7–8 ) simple, broad and flat; its posterior part downcurved and apically rounded, bearing short dorsal setae. Transversal structure below the anal tube representing the merged gnathos and transtilla; lateral arms of the gnathos rudimentary, barely distinguishable. Median plate bilobed and moderately sclerotized. Valves short, somewhat pointed, with a distinct basal lobe arising from the costa; this lobe ( Fig. 7 ) weakly sclerotized, large, rounded and curved toward the median axis. Inner spine ( Fig. 8 ) slightly curved, half the valve in length, heavily sclerotized and lodging itself along the valve’s curve. Juxta membranous, possibly reduced to a pair of small setose lobes ( Fig. 8 ) merged with the posterior margin of the vinculum; the latter laterally produced. Saccus short, straight and moderately pointed. Phallus ( Fig. 9 ) composed of a very long, straight and apically crosier-shaped bulbus ejaculatorius and of a short (ca. one third the length of the bulbus ejaculatorius) aedeagus, the dorsal tip of which is pointed; vesica short, lacking cornuti.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution and biology. L. bonillensis is known only from the type locality. The list of the species collected at this locality highlights the influence of different biogeographical regions on the composition of the saturniid fauna ( Decaëns et al. 2007). Hence, it is reasonable to assume that L. bonillensis is restricted to the Oriental Andean region, as it has never been observed in any locality of the Occidental or Amazonian areas. This point requires more collecting data to be confirmed. The immature stages and food plants are unknown.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to our friend and colleague Diego Bonilla, who collected this new species for the first time, in recognition of his collecting efforts in Colombia over the past 8 years.

Figures

FIGURES 3–6. Wing patterns of Leucanella bonillensis n. sp. and closely related species. 3. Male Holotype, dorsal view; 4. Idem, ventral view; 5. Male of Leucanella acutissima, dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views; 6. Male of Leucanella newmani dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views.

FIGURES 7–15. Genitalia patterns of Leucanella bonillensis n. sp. and closely related species. 7. Holotype genitalia, dorsal view (genitalia prep. TD#171; 8. Idem, ventral view; 9. Idem, edeagus; 10. Genitalia of Leucanella acutissima, dorsal view (genitalia prep. TD#176); 11. Idem, ventral view; 12. Idem, edeagus; 13. Genitalia of Leucanella newmani, dorsal view (genitalia prep. TD#169); 14. Idem, ventral view; 15. Idem, edeagus.