Tarika Moore, 1878

Volynkin, Anton V., Saldaitis, Aidas, Černý, Karel & Huang, Si-Yao, 2023, Taxonomic review of the genus Tarika Moore with descriptions of six new species from Nepal, China and Indochina (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae), Zootaxa 5258 (3), pp. 285-300 : 286-287

Genus Tarika Moore, 1878

Tarika Moore, 1878 , Proceedings of the general meetings for scientific business of the Zoological Society of London, 1878: 14.

Type species: Lithosia varana Moore, 1865 , by subsequent designation by Kirby (1892).

Re-description. External morphology of adults ( Figs 1–14 ). Forewing length 15.5–18.0 mm in males and 18.0– 20.5 mm in females. Antenna ciliate in both sexes with longer ciliae in males. Sexual dimorphism substantial. Head and thorax creamy white in male and pure white with ochreous suffusion in female. Male forewing ground colour creamy white. Female forewing broader than in male, with pure white ground colour and yellow costal margin. Abdomen creamy white with ochreous-yellow suffusion distally in both sexes. Male genitalia ( Figs 17–31 ). Uncus ca. half as long as tegumen, relatively broad (length to width ratio ca. 5:1), cavernous, distally tapered with claw-like tip curved ventrad. Arms of tegumen moderately sclerotised, strongly dilated and fused in posterior half. Vinculum with thin arms, more or less equal in length to tegumen, rectangular with medial depression anteriorly. Valva shorter than tegumen-vinculum complex, lobular with almost straight dorsal margin and rounded apex. Costa with postmedial ventral protrusion bearing short weakly setose crest. Sacculus broad (ca. half of valva width). Distal saccular process relatively short (12–15% of total sacculus length), upcurved, hook-shaped or basally swollen with claw-shaped distal section. Juxta shield-like, weakly sclerotised. Phallus somewhat shorter than tegumenuncus complex, cylindrical, almost straight, with short semi-globular coecum. Basal section of vesica tubular with broad dense cluster of robust spiniform cornuti encircling it. Medial section of vesica tubular with elongate cluster of minute spinules, digitiform proximal diverticulum, and one medial diverticulum being bi- or trilobate in most species and bearing thorn-like cornutus or serrulate plate. Distal section of vesica represented by elongate tubular diverticulum terminating with serrulate plate in most species. Vesica ejaculatorius originates from medial section of vesica. Female genitalia ( Figs 34–39 ). Papilla analis trapezoidal with rounded corners, weakly setose. Apophyses elongate and thin, more or less equal in length. Ostium bursae with gelatinous margins, in certain species with sclerotised crests laterally and dorsally, or sclerotised lobes ventro-laterally. Ductus bursae tubular, gelatinous and rugose. Corpus bursae sack-like, membranous anteriorly and gelatinous and weakly rugose posteriorly, with short semi-globular postero-lateral protrusion. Appendix (cervix) bursae absent. Ductus seminalis originates laterally or latero-anteriorly.

Diagnosis. Males of the genus are superficially similar to the Oriental taxa of the genus Katha (illustrated by Bucsek 2012; Dubatolov et al. 2012; Dubatolov & Bucsek 2016; Kirti & Singh 2016; Joshi et al. 2018) and reliable identification requires the examination of the genitalia. Females of Tarika have pure white forewing with a yellow costal margin whereas it is yellow or brown with yellow suffusion along the costal margin in Katha . The male genital capsule of Tarika displays no remarkable differences from Katha ( Fig. 32 ). The main characteristic feature of Tarika , which may be considered as autapomorphic, is the dense cluster of spiniform cornuti encircling the basal tube of the phallus vesica. In the female genitalia, Tarika differs from Katha ( Fig. 33 ) in the lack of the antevaginal plate and the signum bursae.

Distribution. North and Northeast India, Nepal, China, Thailand, and Vietnam.According to current knowledge, species of the genus are distributed allopatrically.

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Tarika spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 1 and 2 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 3, 4, 7 and 8 in MWM/ZSM; 5 in WIGJ; 6 in AFM.

FIGURES 9–16. Tarika spp. (9–14) and Katha depressa (15, 16): adults. Depositories of the specimens: 9–14 in MWM/ZSM; 15 and 16 in CAV.

FIGURES 17–19. Tarika spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 17 and 18 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 19 in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 20–22. Tarika spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 20 in WIGJ; 21 in AFM; 22 in MWM/ ZSM.

FIGURES 23–25. Tarika spp.: male genitalia. The specimens dissected are deposited in MWM/ZSM.

FIGURES 26–28. Tarika danieli sp. n.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 26 in MWM/ZSM; 27 and 28 in ZFMK.

FIGURES 29–31. Tarika spp.: male genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 29 and 31 in MWM/ZSM; 30 in ZFMK.

FIGURES 32–35. Katha depressa (32, 33) and Tarika spp. (34, 35): male (32) and female (33–35) genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 32 and 33 in CAV; 34 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 35 in AFM.

FIGURES 36–39. Tarika spp.: female genitalia. The specimens dissected are deposited in MWM/ZSM.