Eudocima lequeuxi Brou & Zilli

Brou Jr, V. A. & Zilli, A., 2016, An overlooked sibling of the fruit-piercing moth Eudocima phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763) from Africa (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Calpinae), Zootaxa 4109 (3), pp. 391-399 : 391-396

Eudocima lequeuxi Brou & Zilli sp. n.

( Figs 1–4 , 9–12 , 17 , 19 , 21 )

Diagnosis. A large, sexually dimorphic species of Eudocima Billberg, 1820 closely similar to Eudocima phalonia ( Figs 5–8 , 13–16 , 18 , 20 , 22 ), from which it may easily be distinguished by several adult features, the most noticeable being a more elongated forewing which ends in a slightly subfalcate apex and a gibbous expansion along the outer margin (smoothly and regularly convex in E. phalonia ). In E. lequeuxi , the forewing is more crenulated at the termen (noticeably so in females), and females have a more minutely mottled and rippled forewing. In E. lequeuxi the hindwing has a somewhat broader orange area, and the black discal spot forms a slightly flexed ‘figure of-8’ with a concave inner edge; in E. phalonia this spot is distinctly ‘C-shaped’ with a convex inner edge ( Figs 1–8 ). In the male genitalia the valva of E. lequeuxi has a broader distal costal expansion, and a blunter and more toothed apex; the juxta is longer and more distinctly serrate along the inner margins of paired processes (these also being straighter); the aedeagus has smaller and more slender vesica without evident bulges on corpus and less extended cornuti ( Figs 9–18 ). The midventral corema is narrower and distinctly longer in E. lequeuxi ( Figs 19–20 ). In the female genitalia, the antrum is deeper in E. lequeuxi than in E. phalonia , the former also having a longer and narrower ductus with a more distinct bulge on the right side, and a more slender posterior portion of the bursa copulatrix ( Figs 21–22 ). Female E. lequeuxi are similar to E. cajeta (Cramer, 1775) ( Figs 23–24 ), a species of the Oriental tropics ranging from the Indian subcontinent and Ceylon to Indochina, but the male of E. cajeta is highly distinct from both E. lequeuxi and E. phalonia .

Type material. Holotype ♂ ( Fig. 1 ): S. Rwanda, Butare, 1750m, 11.IV.1977, B. Turlin leg., in NHM. Allotype ♀ ( Fig. 2 ): Uganda, Moroto, Mt Napak, V.2009, in coll. VAB. Paratypes: 40 ♂♂, 33 ♀♀: Uganda: 1♂, 1♀, Western Uganda, near Congo border, III–IV.1926, E. Barns leg., ex coll. J.J. Joicey, in NHM. 1♀, Moroto, Mt Napak, XI.2006, in VA B. 1 ♂, idem, IV.2012; 1♂, Kampala, 20.III.2013; both J.P. Lequeux leg., in VAB. Kenya: 1♂, Muani, 2.I.1899, C.S. Betton leg., in NHM (gen. prep. BMNH noct. 14849). 1♂, Kitale, VII.1958, C. Howard leg., ex coll. Coryndon Mus., in NHM. 1♂, Mombasa, Kilifi, 16.V.1949, G.W. Jeffery leg., in NHM. 1♂, Kibwezi, Uganda Railway, 3,000 ft, 17.XII.1921, R.A. Dummer leg., in NHM. 1♂, Nairobi (gen. prep. BMNH noct. 14833); 1♀, idem, IV–VI; both V.G.L. van Someren leg.; 1♀, idem, 7.VIII.1920, A. Loveridge leg., ex coll. L.W. Rothschild; all in NHM. 2♂♂, 2♀♀, Ikutha, ex coll. L.W. Rothschild, in NHM. 1♂, 1♀, [Kikuyu], Escarpment, 6,500–9,000 ft, III.1901, W. Doherthy leg., ex coll. L.W. Rothschild, in NHM. 1♀, Nakuru, 15.II.1948, A. Townsend leg., ex coll. Coryndon Mus., in NHM. 1♂ British East Africa, W. Feather leg., ex coll. L.W. Rothschild, in NHM. Rwanda: 2♂♂, Butare, 1750m, 11.IV.1977; 1♀, idem, 26.II.1977; 1♂, 1♀, Nyungwe Forest, Route Delvaux Km 17, 2000m, 23.IV.1977; all B. Turlin leg., in VAB. Congo (Democratic Republic): 1♂, Tanganyika District, M’Pala, R.P. Guillem, ex coll. C. Oberthr, in NHM. Tanzania: 1♂, Tendaguru, 9.I.1928, W.E. Cutler leg., in NHM. 1♀, Amani, II.1962; 1♂, idem, I.1963; both ex coll. G. Pringle, in NHM. 1♂ N end Tanganyika, E.L. Grogan leg., in NHM. 1♀, Terr. Lindi, 7.II.1925, W.E. Cutler leg., in NHM. 1♀, Ngourou [= Nguru Mts], II–VIII.1888, R.P. Lutz leg., ex coll. C. Oberthr, in NHM. 1♂, Dar-es-Salaam [as Dar-es-Salem], ex coll. C. Swinhoe; 1♀, idem, ex coll. L.W. Rothschild; both in NHM. 1♀, “ German East Africa, [illegible], 5.XII.1916; 1♂, idem, 9.XII.1916; both V.G.L. van Someren leg., ex coll. L.W. Rothschild, in NHM. 1♂, Njombe region, 17.XII.2004, ex coll. M. Robert, in VAB. 2♂♂, 3♀♀, Mwanga District, Kindoroko Forest, Kilimanjaro Region, 2012 October–November, in VA B. Zambia: 1♂, 21.XI.2011, in VAB. 1♂. Malawi: 1♂, Port Herald [= Nsanje], J.E.S. Old leg., in NHM. 1♂, Mt Mlanje [= Mulanje], 4.II.1913; 1♀, idem, 12.II.1913 (gen. prep. BMNH noct. 14818); 2♂♂, idem, 14.II.1913; 1♂, idem, 3.II.1914 (gen. prep. BMNH noct. 14817); all S.A. Neave leg., in NHM. 1♀, Mlanji Boma, 2,400 ft, 26.IV.1910, S.A. Neave leg., in NHM. 1♀, Zomba, III–IV.1920, H. Barlow leg., ex coll. J.J. Joicey; 2♂♂, idem, XII.1922, H. Barlow leg., ex coll. L.W. Rothschild; all in NHM. 1♂, Zomba Plateau, I.1921, ex coll. J.J. Joicey, in NHM. 2♂♂, 5♀♀, Luchenza, Magunda Estate, F. Nisbet leg., ex coll. L.W. Rothschild, in NHM (1♂ gen. prep. BMNH noct. 22059). Mozambique: 1♂, Delagoa Bay [as Delagiu B.; = Maputo Bay]; 1♂, 2♀♀, idem, ex coll. C. Oberthr; 1♂, 2♀♀, idem, ex coll. J.J. Joicey; all in NHM. 1♀, Maputo [as Lorenzo Marquez], ex coll. W.L. Distant, in NHM. Zimbabwe: 1♀, Marandellas [= Marondera], ex coll. L.W. Rothschild, in NHM. Botswana: 1♀, Maun, 17.IV.1972, British Museum Southern African exp. leg., in NHM.

Description. Male ( Figs 1, 3 ). Wingspan (76) 85–104 (107) mm (x = 95.3 mm; n = 27). Ground colour ecru-tan with a hint of yellow suffusion overall. Head large and compactly scaled, clothing of frons produced into short conical hood; antenna filiform, beige; labial palpus voluminous, 1st -2nd joints stout, thickly clothed, 3rd one slender. Thorax robust, with dark tan brown postero-lateral tuft; patagium voluminous, tegula slender. Forewing elongated with quite prominent, subfalcate apex, termen gently albeit distinctly undulated, and distinctly outwardly produced at middle into convex expansion, tornus slightly inwardly hooked; arc-shaped notch along anal margin comparatively long; coloration varying from almost uniform with some darker hues to minutely albeit irregularly rippled with darker brown scaling; elements of pattern little evident, except for segment bisecting apical field; antemedial line very thin, sub-vertical, almost straight or feebly concave at middle, often incomplete, median shade as an irregular wide, straight band, discal spot wide subtriangular, filled with ground color, usually only its outer margin discernible; postmedial line faint or indistinct, subparallel to wing margin, beyond postmedial a pale nearly straight pale beige segment lined superiorly by duller brown bisects apical field; distal field with some irregular waves of darker tan brown; fringe short, concolorous. Forewing underside with costal and apical areas beige rippled with some darker brown scaling, basal area wide triangular, pale orange-colored, followed by two wide oblique blackish brown bands with a wide pale orange one in-between; fringe dark beige to brown. Hindwing wide, termen slightly crenulated from apex to CuA1; ground color vivid pale orange, slightly darker at base, discal spot conspicuous, black, distinctly constricted at middle from both inner and outer edges, the first thence slightly concave at middle, distal black band widest superiorly, its outer margin notched between veins, with resulting spaces filled by pale yellowish white; fringe comparatively long, white in correspondence of pale notches, black at veins, and orange along anal angle and margin. Hindwing underside with same markings and coloration as on upperside, except for apical area, pale beige. Legs slender with conspicuously tufted tibiae, ecru-tan colored with light beige to pale orange tufting, foretibia with very faint pale dot at two-fifths from base. Abdomen thickly clothed, dorsally orange, beige at very tip and ventrally; midventral corema, opening on sternum A8, slender and very long ( Fig. 19 ). Male genitalia ( Figs 9–12 , 17 ). Vinculum U-shaped, tegumen hood-like; valva with concave costal margin before large, flat subtriangular costal expansion, sacculus simple, weakly sclerotized, apex blunt with neatly crenulated edge. Juxta very long, in shape of paired elongated, flat, straight and apically pointed laminae, their inner margins minutely serrated in the distal half. Uncus short and stout, with short hooked tip. Tuba analis with ridged, weakly sclerotized, longitudinally invaginated scaphium. Aedeagus stout tubular, vesica short and compact, consisting of slender, obliquely reclinate corpus richly provided with dorsolateral field of long thin needle-like, basally speculated cornuti, followed by abrupt constriction and reclinate distal cone oriented towards base of aedeagus; gonopore opening dorsally from right apical side of corpus ( Fig. 17 ).

Female ( Figs 2, 4 ). Wingspan (85) 86–106 (108) mm (x = 95.0 mm; n = 25). Structural features of head and thorax as in male. Ground color varying from beige to warm brown, irregularly mottled with pale and dark tan brown patches, and with overall minute dark brown speckles which on forewing may produce finely engraved irregular rippled pattern; postero-lateral tuft of thorax darker brown than in male. Shape of forewing as in male but with termen particularly crenulated; crosslines oriented as in male but largely disrupted against background, dark brown and diffuse where discernible; median shade as a wide diffuse band from cubitus to apex of anal wing flap, postmedial outwardly jagged at veins, with irregular whitish mark between CuA1-CuA2, discal spot large, outlined by dark brown and filled with ground color, subtriangular with thin proximally oriented projection along cubitus; distal field with somewhat W-shaped, dark brown-filled area beyond postmedial line between M2 and CuA2; irregular pale clearings trace an incomplete submarginal line, apical field bisected by middle brown segment discernible only in a number of specimens; veins lined as in male or concolorous with background; fringe mottled brown. Hindwing as in male. Abomen and underside as in male, legs also, but tibiae less conspicuously tufted. Female genitalia ( Fig. 21 ). Segment A8 sclerotized all around joining antero-ventrally with long, heavily sclerotized infundibular-shaped antrum, this bearing long, stout protruding central spine arising from its ventral wall; apophyses anteriores vestigial; ductus bursae very short and narrow, dilated anteriorly into weakly sclerotized curved bulge which connects directly with very long, saccular, minutely corrugated corpus bursae, this slightly more dilated posteriorly; ductus seminalis from inner wall of posterior part of this dilatation. Intersegmental membrane A8–A9 tall, papillae anales soft, large subrectangular, distally blunt, with sparse setae, longest subbasally; apophyses posteriores comparatively long, rod-like.

Etymology. The new species is named after the lepidopterist Jean-Pierre Lequeux of Kampala ( Uganda), who assisted the authors and collected several examples from various countries.

Taxonomic Notes. Eudocima lequeuxi is a close relative of the widespread Palaeotropical-Pacific E. phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763) (= fullonia Clerck, 1764 ). Accordingly, identity of the following nominal taxa was reviewed to ascertain the availability of names for the new species, none in any case turning out as based on material of African origin. Phalaena phalonia Linné, 1763 (Centuria Insectorum rariorum: 28; Amoenitates academicae 6: 411. Type Loc.: in Indiis; lectotype male designated by Mikkola & Honey (1993) and examined online at The Linnean Collections 2015). [ Phalaena ] fullonia Clerck, 1764 (Icones Insectorum rariorum 2: pl. 48, figs [1–4]. TL: [in Indiis], after indication by Linné (1763a: 4, 1763b: 387) addressing to forthcoming work by Clerck (1764); Zilli & Hogenes (2002) discussed the likely unavailability of this commonly used name and reasons why conditions for reversal of precedence are not met). Noctua dioscoreae Fabricius, 1775 (Systema Entomologiae: 593. TL: in Indiae orientalis Dioscoreis; the notation refers to the plant group ‘Dioscoreae’ with which in the past Menispermaceae were often assimilated, so the TL should be translated “in dioscoreaceous-like plants of Oriental India ". Fabrician material referable to Noctua dioscoreae is at the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen ( Aurivillius, 1898), but its type status requires analysis). Phalaena Noctua pomona Cramer, [1776] (De Uitlandsche Kapellen 1: 122, pl. 77, fig. C [1775], 154 [index] [1776]. TL: Kust van Coromandel; the holotype female of Phalaena Noctua Pomona , previously considered lost, was recently discovered in the NHM, examined). Ophideres obliterans Walker , [1858] (List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 13: 1229. TL: Navigator’s Islands [= Samoa]; holotype male at NHM, examined).

Distribution and Bionomics. Known records of Eudocima lequeuxi are all from Central-Eastern and Southeastern Africa. The species likely also occurs in South Africa (a male specimen in NHM is labelled "S. Africa", a notation which might however relate to other countries of austral Africa). A male and female of the new species are pictured by Pinhey (1975a: pl. 62, figs 1124a♂-1124b♀) under Othreis fullonia (Clerck) , but with no indication (see p. 28) from where these originated, and he also illustrated a female E. lequeuxi in fig. 232a and a male E. phalonia in fig. 232b under O. fullonia in Pinhey (1975b) . African records of E. phalonia verified by the authors include Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo (ex Belgian), Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania (incl. Pemba Is.), Angola, Namibia, Madagascar and Réunion Is. Despite evidence for some geographic overlap between the two species, quite a drop in the number of confirmed records of E. phalonia appears for the core distribution area by E. lequeuxi , so there may be some geographic or ecological displacement between them in Eastern Africa. However, in the Malagasy region only E. phalonia can so far be confirmed. Due to the prior confusion between the two species it is difficult to draw distinctions between the bionomics of E. lequeuxi and E. phalonia , though their close morphologies suggest adult behavior may be similar (cf. Cochereau, 1977; Davis et al., 2005). In consideration of the economic importance of E. phalonia , the bionomics of E. lequeuxi should be assessed to verify its possible pest status in fruit orchards from Central-Eastern and Southeastern Africa, and to better circumscribe the role of E. phalonia .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Adults of Eudocima Billberg, 1820. 1. E. lequeuxi sp. n., Holotypus ♂, Rwanda, Butare. 2. Idem, Allotypus ♀, Uganda, Mt Natak. 3. Idem, Paratypus ♂, Tanzania, Njombe region. 4. Idem, Paratypus ♀, South Rwanda, Butare. 5. E. phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763), ♂, Uganda, Kanungu, Engagi lodge. 6. Idem, ♀, Ivory Coast, Tiapleu. 7. Idem, ♂, Tanzania, Dodoma savannah. 8. Idem, ♀, Malawi, Mt. Mlanje [= Mulanje].

FIGURES 9 – 12. Male genitalia of Eudocima lequeuxi sp. n. (paratypes, aedeagi removed). 9. Malawi, Mt. Mlanje [= Mulanje] (BMNH noct. 14817). 10. Idem, Luchenza, Magunda estate (BMNH noct. 22059). 11. Kenya, Nairobi (BMNH noct. 14833). 12. Idem, Muani (BMNH noct. 14849).

FIGURES 17 – 18. Aedeagi of Eudocima Billberg, 1820. 17. E. lequeuxi sp. n., same as fig. 10. 18. E. phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763), same as fig. 15.

FIGURES 19 – 20. Coremata of Eudocima Billberg, 1820. 19. E. lequeuxi sp. n., same as fig. 10. 20. E. phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763), same as fig. 15.

FIGURES 21 – 22. Female genitalia of Eudocima Billberg, 1820. 21. E. lequeuxi sp. n., Kenya, Ikutha (BMNH noct. 22057). 22. E. phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763), Ghana, Accra (gen. prep. AZ 696).

FIGURES 13 – 16. Male genitalia of Eudocima phalonia (Linnaeus, 1763) (aedeagi removed). 13. Ivory Coast, Bingerville (BMNH noct. 14839). 14. Tanzania, Musoma distr., Banagi (BMNH noct. 14834). 15. Angola, N’Dalla Tando [= N’dallatando] (BMNH noct. slide 22060). 16. Madagascar, Antakares, Isokitra / Diego Suarez [= / Antsiranana] (BMNH noct. 14845).

FIGURES 23 – 24. Adults of Eudocima cajeta (Cramer, 1775). 23. ♂, Vietnam, Tuyen Quang. 24. ♀, Thailand, Khao Yai, Khao Khieo.