Amauta papilionaris amethystina (Houlbert, 1917)

García-Díaz, José De Jesús, Espinoza-Sanabria, Bernardo A., Worthy, Robert, González, Jorge M., Janzen, Daniel H. & Hallwachs, Winnie, 2024, Synopsis of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) of Costa Rica, Zootaxa 5481 (2), pp. 151-202 : 156

2. Amauta papilionaris amethystina (Houlbert, 1917)

( Figs. 1B , 12A )

Castnia amethystina Houlbert, 1917 ; Houlbert, 1917. Étud. Lép. Comp. 13, p. 54.

Amauta amethystina ; Houlbert, 1918. Étud. Lép. Comp. 15, pp. 62, 138, 676, fig. 49.

Castnia (Amauta) papilionaris amethystina ; Rothschild, 1919. Novit. Zool. 26 (1), p. 3.

Amauta papilionaris amethystina ; Miller, 1995, in Heppner. Castnioidea: Castniidae : Castniinae , Checklist part 2, Atlas Neo. Lep. , p. 133.

Amauta papilionaris amethystina ; Lamas, 1995. Revta. Per. Ent. 37, p. 76.

Amauta papilionaris amethystina ; Worthy et al., 2022. Zootaxa 5194 (3), p. 321, figs. 4D, 8A–B.

General comments. In the latest revision of the genus Amauta , three subspecies were included in A. papilionaris (Walker, [1865]) , lionela, papilionaris , and amethystina , with the latter having the northernmost distribution. However, this subspecies is only known from two male specimens from Central America: the holotype, collected in Panama, and an additional specimen found in the province of Limón in Costa Rica ( Worthy et al. 2022). The female is unknown. Authors such as Rothschild (1919), Apolinar (1945), González (1999), and Racheli & Vinciguerra (2006) reported specimens of this subspecies from Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador; however, those specimens were found to actually correspond to the nominal subspecies ( Worthy et al. 2022). Amauta papilionaris amethystina differs from A. papilionaris papilionaris (Walker, [1865]) by having a wider yellowish band in the postdiscal region of the forewing and a slightly narrower postdiscal blue band on the hindwing, similar to that of Amauta papilionaris lionela Lamas, 1995 . It also differs from both subspecies by having a slightly more purplish coloration.

Ecology and behavior. Nothing is known about its behavior and host plants. It is probably crepuscular like other species in the genus.

Distribution and biogeography. The exact locality of only one specimen is known (Limón, Costa Rica), based on the description, its type locality is “ Panama ”. This subspecies may have a wider distribution in Costa Rica and Panama, but due to its habits, it has proved difficult to find. According to the biogeographic provinces of the Neotropical region proposed by Morrone et al. (2022), the locality in which the only known Costa Rican specimen of A. p. amethystina was collected belongs to the Guatuso-Talamanca province of the Pacific dominion in the Brazilian subregion.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A: ♀, Corybantes veraguana veraguana, Heredia, Sarapiqui, Magsasay, 200m, 12 mayo 1994, C. Pineda, G. Vega, MNCR-A5055728 (MNCR); B: ♂, Amauta papilionaris amethystina, Costa Rica, Provincia de Limón, Limón, Nicholas Zakharoff gift (CAS) (photographs: Christopher C. Grinter); C–D: Amauta procera; C: ♂, Est. Hitoy-Cerere, 100m, R. Cerere, Res. Biol. Hitoy Cerere, Prov. Limón, G. Carballo, Jul 1991, L-N-184200, 643300, INBIOCRI001110672, MNCR-A1110672 (MNCR); D: ♀, Puntarenas, Sn. Vito, Las Cruces, Jardín Botánico, 24–27 Agosto 1987, L. D. Gómez, INBIOCRI001055983, MNCR-A1055983 (MNCR). Scale bar = 2cm.

FIGURE 12. Distribution maps of the genera Amauta (A), Athis (B, C), Corybantes and Mirocastnia (D), Divana (E) and Prometheus (F) in Costa Rica.