Siccia bicolorata Romieux, 1937

Volynkin, Anton V., 2023, Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Siccia Walker (= Aemene Walker, syn. n.) in the Afrotropics with descriptions of seventy-three new species, three new subspecies, and a check-list of Asiatic taxa of the genus (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Ecologica Montenegrina 64, pp. 1-184 : 83

Siccia bicolorata Romieux, 1937

( Figs 223–225 , 427 , 518 )

Siccia bicolorata Romieux, 1937 , Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 17 (3): 130, pl. 8: fig. 4 (Type locality: “ Haut-Katanga ( Congo Belge) ... Tshinkolobwe ”).

Type material examined. Photographs of the holotype ( Fig. 223 ): male, [ DRC, Katanga Prov., Shinkolobwe mine, 11°03'17.9''S 26°32'50.2''E] “Ht Katanga | Tshinkolobwe | 17.3.[19]31 | J. Romieux ” / “ Siccia Wlk. | bicolorata Rmx. | ♂ | type” / red ring “Type” label / “MHNG | ENTO | 00012693” ( MHNG) .

Additional material examined. ZAMBIA: 3 males, 1 female, 1437m, Kapishya Hot Springs, Shiwa N’gandu Estate , 11˚10'13''S, 31˚36'00''E, i–iii.2016, M.T. Harvey coll., Smith, R., Takano, H. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5778 (male) ( ANHRT) ; 1 female, the same locality and collectors as previous but v.[20]15 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 1 female, the same locality and collectors as previous but i.2015, gen. prep. Nos.: AV3346 (male), AV33347 (female) ( ANHRT) ; 2 females, the same locality as previous but i–iii.2017, M.T. Harvey coll., Miles, W., Oram, D., Smith, L. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5779 ( ANHRT) ; 1 female, the same locality and collectors as previous but 1–5.iii.2017 ( ANHRT) ; 1 female, the same locality and collectors as previous but 14–16.iii.2017 ( ANHRT) ; 1 male, 1566m, Senka Hill, Mukulizi Forest Reserve , Muchinga Province, 09˚05'43''S, 32˚05'06''E, 1–6.v.2019, MV Light Trap, Dérozier, V., László, G., Miles, W. leg., gen. prep. No.: AV5815 ( ANHRT) .

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 8.0– 9.5 mm in males and 8.5–9.5 mm in females. Siccia bicolorata is largely reminiscent of S. mukuyu and can be reliably distinguished from it only by the genitalia structures (the detailed comparison is provided below in the diagnosis of S. mukuyu ). Besides S. mukuyu , the genitalia of both sexes of the current species are also similar to those of S. kundalila and the detailed comparison is also provided below in the diagnosis of that species.

Molecular data. The intraspecific divergence of COI-5P sequences calculated from three sampled specimens is in the range of 0.00–0.46%. As the molecular data are currently unavailable for the most similar S. mukuyu , the COI-5P sequences of S. bicolorata were compared with S. lydiae , from which the current species diverges by 2.68–4.16%.

Distribution. The species is currently known from south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga Province) ( Romieux 1937) and Zambia.

Figures

Figures 223–239. Siccia spp., adults. Depositories of the specimens: 223 in MHNG (photo by B. Landry); 224, 225, 227, 229–231, and 238, 239 in ANHRT (227: ex AKW); 226 and 233 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 228, 236 and 237 in ALW; 232 in MWM/ZSM; 234 and 235 in MfN.

Figures 427–430. Siccia spp., male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 427, 429 and 430 in ANHRT (429: ex AKW); 428 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK).

Figures 517–520. Siccia spp., female genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 517, 518 and 520 in ANHRT; 519 in AKW.