Brassolis Fabricius

Garzón-Orduña, Ivonne J. & Penz, Carla M., 2009, Phylogeny of Dynastor and Brassolis butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): a tough nut to crack, Zootaxa 2134, pp. 1-22 : 5

Genus Brassolis Fabricius

Robust-bodied, medium size (male FW length from 60.5 mm ( dinizi ) to 82.7 mm for ( astyra ); Fig. 2 , 3 ). Antennae short, strongly clubbed. Reduced, non-functional proboscis ( Fig. 3 E). Tibial spurs absent in both sexes. Dorsal FW brown with an orange, or orange and white postmedial band, depending on the species. Dorsal HW brown with or without an orange postmedial band, depending on the species. Males with a small, narrow patch of androconial scales below vein Cu2 ( Fig. 7 B, character 16). Sexes similar in color, males smaller than females. FW basal, costal margin in-curved in males, bowed in females. Ventral HW brown stippled with white; eyespots in cells Sc+R1 and Cu1 variable in size. Male and female genitalia remarkably uniform across species. Male gnathos absent (unique within Brassolini ); valva broad, distally curved and with apical serration ( Fig. 8 F); phallus with minute spines along the shaft and usually two to three setae on the edge of the vesica. Female sterigma projected as a flap posteriorly ( Fig. 9 C, D, E); anterior section of sterigma (lamella antevaginalis) thin and generally continuous, forming a ‘loop’. Corpus bursa lacking signa.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Brassolis species in dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views. (A & B) Male and female B. sophorae from French Guiana. (C & D) Female and male B. sophorae from Ecuador. (E & F) Male and female B. haenschi from Ecuador. (G) Male B. sophorae from Trinidad. (H) Male B. sophorae from Peru. (I & J) Male and female B. dinizi from Paraiba and Ceará respectively (Brazil). (K) Male B. sophorae from Santa Catarina (Brazil). (L) Male B. sophorae from Paraguay.

FIGURE 3. Brassolis species, in dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views (except for C). (A & B) Male and female B. isthmia from Panama. (C) Male B. isthmia from Costa Rica. (D) Male of granadensis from Colombia. (E) Detail showing head and proboscis of B. isthmia from Panama. (F & G) Male and female B. astyra from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). (H) Male B. astyra from Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).

FIGURE 7. Wing characters. (A) Brassolis dizini. (B) B. astyra. (C) B. haenschi. (D) Dynastor darius.

FIGURE 8. Male characters. Scale bars, 1 mm. Labial palp in lateral view. (A) Bia actorion. (B) Brassolis sophorae. (C) Dynastor darius. Tegumen in dorsal view. (D) B. astyra. Genitalic capsule in lateral view. (E) D. darius. (F) B. sophorae. Tegumen and uncus in lateral view. (G) D. macrosiris. Phallus in lateral view. (H) D. napoleon. Juxta in ventral view. (I) B. astyra. (J) D. napoleon. Phallus in ventral view. (K) D. darius. (L) B. haenschi. (M) B. granadensis.

FIGURE 9. Female characters. Scale bars, 1 mm. Female distal tarsomere in ventral view (details of pulvillar process omitted). (A) Dynastor darius. Sterigma in ventral view. (B) D. darius. (C) B. isthmia. (D) B. astyra. (E) B. dinizi. Posterior lobes of papillae annales in lateral view. (F) Elymnias hypermnestra. (G) D. napoleon. (H) B. haenschi. Note that the lamella antevaginalis is not visible in C, D, and E due to the orientation of the drawing.