Mythimna (Pseudaletia) Franclemont, 1951

Madruga, Janaína, Specht, Alexandre, Blas, German San, Mielke, Olaf H H & Casagrande, Mirna M, 2022, Revision of the species of Mythimna Ochsenheimer, 1816 (Pseudaletia Franclemont, 1951) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Noctuinae: Leucaniini) occurring in Brazil, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20220026) 66 (3), pp. 1-21 : 4

Mythimna (Pseudaletia) Franclemont, 1951

Pseudaletia Franclemont, 1951 . Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 53 (2): 63.- Franclemont and Todd, 1983. Check List Lep. Amer. N. Mexico, 150.- Poole, 1989. Lep. Cat. (n.s.) 118, Noctuidae 2, 843.

Mythimna (Pseudaletia) ; Zerbino,1984. Investig. Agron. (Montevideo) 5: 17.- Terra and Zerbino, 1986. Investig. Agron. (Montevideo) 6: 49.- Holloway, 1989. Moths of Borneo, Part 12, Malay. Nat. J. 42 (2-3): 57.- Yoshimatsu, 1994. Bull. Nat. Inst. Agro-Environ. Sci. 11: 81.- Hacker et al., 2002. Noctuidae Europaeae 4, 178.- Barbut and Lalanne-Cassou, 2010. L’Ent. 66 (3): 117.- Sutrisno, 2012. HAYATI J. Biosc. 19 (2): 65.

Systematic history

Ochsenheimer described Mythimna in 1816 based on Phalaena turca Linnaeus, 1761, as the type species. Posteriorly, Franclemont (1951) described the genus Pseudaletia with Noctua unipuncta Haworth, 1809 as the type species. Franclemont and Todd (1983) and Poole (1989) maintained the status of genus for Pseudaletia . Zerbino (1984) and Terra and Zerbino (1986) cited Pseudaletia as a synonym of Mythimna . However, they mentioned that no taxonomic justification could be found to include the South American species in the latter. Holloway (1989) cited Pseudaletia as subgenus of Mythimna . Yoshimatsu (1994) revised the species from Japan and Taiwan, finding genus Mythimna monophyletic and confirming the presence of seven subgenera, Pseudaletia among them. Finally, Hacker et al. (2002) followed the same hypothesis, citing the Neotropical species in the subgenus Mythimna (Pseudaletia) .

Morphological characterization

The species of Mythimna are predominantly beige, a pattern that is generally mixed with dark scales. Many species are superficially similar, and the distinction often requires examination of the genitalia. As a standard, male and female genitalia differ in general appearance, with emphasis on the valva and its structures in males and the structure of the bursa copulatrix in females ( Franclemont, 1951; Hacker et al., 2002).

In the species of Mythimna (Pseudaletia) , the forewings are narrower and have a sharper apex when compared to the wing morphology of the other subgenera. Its genitalia has the following synapomorphies: male genitalia with the harpe-ampulla complex reduced and modified, cucullus expanded, corona strong and extended, vesica usually with a basal diverticulum bearing a reduced, terminal cornutus. Female genitalia with appendix bursae deriving from the proximal part of ductus bursae ( Hacker et al., 2002).

Morphological and molecular analyses have agreed with the presence of four species in Brazil: Mythimna (P.) unipuncta ( Haworth, 1809) , Mythimna (P.) adultera ( Schaus, 1894) , Mythimna (P.) sequax Franclemont, 1951 , and Mythimna (P.) celiae sp. nov. ( Figs. 1-4 ; Table 1).

Figures

Figure 1 Nomenclature adopted for wing venation and genitalia, based on Mythimna (P.) celiae sp. nov. a, fore and hindwing, scale bar = 10mm; b, male genitalia in ventral view; c, ampulla, digitus, and clasper in inner lateral view of the valva, with a scheme on the right side; d, uncus in posterior view; e, uncus in lateral view; f, fultura inferior (=juxta); g, aedeagus with everted vesica in lateral view; h-i, female genitalia in lateral and ventral views, respectively. Scale bars b-e, g-i= 1mm, f = 0.5mm.

Figure 2 Geographic distribution of Mythimna (Pseudaletia) in Brazil.

Figure 3 Evolutionary relationships of the taxa, using the Neighbor-Joining method.The optimal tree with the sum of the branch lengths = 0,14304783 is shown, bootstrap values are presented next to each ramification.

Figure 4 Molecular phylogenetic analysis through the method of maximum likelihood (original tree).The tree with the highest log probability (-1360.63)is shown.The percentage of trees in which the grouped associated taxa is shown beside the ramifications.