Neposa heras (Godman, 1900) Austin & Warren, 2009

Austin, George T. & Warren, Andrew D., 2009, New looks at and for Onespa, Buzyges, and Librita (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae), with new combinations and descriptions of a new genus and six new species, Insecta Mundi 2009 (89), pp. 1-55 : 40-43

Neposa heras (Godman, 1900) , new combination

( Fig. 45-50 , 62, 73, 84, 94)

Augiades heras Godman, 1900 . Type locality: MEXICO: Guerrero; Omilteme [Omiltemi]; holotype male ( Fig. 45-46 ) in Godman and Salvin collection at BMNH.

Description. Male ( Fig. 45-48 , 62) - mean forewing length = 15.0 mm (14.6-15.6 mm, n=7; from Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mexico); forewing apex pointed, termen convex; hindwing termen convex cephalad, slightly concave caudad before short tornal lobe; dorsum brown and orange; forewing with conspicuous, broad, and dark gray-brown bipartite stigma, oval in CuA 1 -CuA 2 along posterior edges of CuA 1 (prominently distad of its origin) and discal cell, not quite reaching base of cell and curving to CuA 2, separated by that vein from triangular element in CuA 2 -2A, both elements entirely surrounded by modified black scales, these shiny cephalad of anterior element, lower brush patch black, prominent, extending caudad onto vein 2A; dorsal forewing with yellow-orange clearly defined in proximal 2/3 of costal cell, in most of Sc-R 1 and R 1 -R 2, as quadrate subapical macules in R 3 -R 4, R 4 -R 5, and R 5 -M 1 (these overlapping and increasing in size caudad), near base of M 3 -CuA 1, at distal end of discal cell especially in posterior portion cephalad of stigma, proximad of stigma in CuA 2 -2A, and in basal 3/4 of anal cell; other yellow-orange areas (discal cell, bases of cells from R 3 to M 1, submarginally in M 2 -M 3 and M 3 -CuA 1, distad of stigma in CuA 1 -CuA 2, and CuA 2 -2A, and distad in anal cell) vague, variably mixed orange and brown scales; outer margin very dark brown (nearly black), broadest at apex; veins dark brown with vein 2A the darkest; fringe pale brown cephalad, yellow-orange caudad of 2A.

Dorsal hindwing brown with yellow-orange more or less quadrate macules in Rs-M 1 (smallest and somewhat offset proximad), M 1 -M 3, M 3 -CuA 1, and CuA 1 -CuA 2, and at distal end of discal cell, macule in M 1 - M 3 partly divided by single line of brown scales; long orange setiform scales in base of discal cell, in proximal 3/4 of CuA 2 -2A and densely along vein 2A nearly to termen; all margins very dark brown (nearly black), this extending from costa to base of Sc+R

1

-Rs; fringe yellow-orange, mixed with brown cephalad.

Ventral forewing largely dull orange cephalad becoming red-brown distad, yellow-orange as subapical macules (as on dorsum) and more or less quadrate postmedial macules in M 3 -CuA 1, CuA 1 -CuA 2, and anterior CuA 2 -2A, the latter continued as poorly defined area of cream-colored scales to 2A; dark brown (nearly black) in base of discal cell, very base of M 3 -CuA 1, on either side of postmedial macules in CuA 1 - CuA

2

and CuA

2

-2A, and entire anal cell; fringe pale brown cephalad, dull yellow-orange caudad of 2A.

Ventral hindwing largely dull orange, appears mottled by vaguely paler yellow-orange patches (beneath submarginal macules of dorsum and elsewhere), submarginal markings accentuated distad and less so proximad by small darker red-brown macules; mixed dark brown and orange in posterior CuA 2 -2A and all of 2A-3A; long orange setiform scales along proximal 2/3 of vein 3A; fringe dull orange cephalad, yellow-orange caudad of 2A.

Dorsal head olive-orange, few white or pale orange scales above, behind, and beneath eye; palpi quadrate with olive-orange and a few black setiform scales on dorsum becoming yellow-orange mixed with black scales on sides and venter, 3rd segment black, stout, not exceeding scales of 2nd segment; antennae long (53% of costal length), entirely black on dorsum, venter black checked with yellow, the yellow broadening distad, club relatively long (37% of length of shaft), yellow and black, nudum red-brown, darker distad, 11 (n=2), 12 (n=2), or 13 (n=1) segments; dorsal thorax black entirely covered with olive-orange setiform scales; ventral thorax black, overscaled with dark orange setiform scales, pectus yellow-orange; legs olive-orange distad, brown proximad, olive setiform scales on femur, yellow-orange setiform scales on tibia; protibia smooth, red-brown epiphysis short, reaching junction with tarsus, mesotibia spined, single pair of spurs, outer 1/2 length of inner, metatibia spined, two pairs of spurs, outer about 1/2 length of inner; dorsal abdomen black entirely covered with olive-orange setiform scales, caudal end deep orange; ventral abdomen ochreous.

Genitalia ( Fig. 73 , 84 ) - uncus short, not hooked caudad in lateral view, entire and narrowing to blunt and slightly divided caudal end in dorsal view; gnathos shallowly separated from and slightly longer than uncus in lateral view, divided with arms slender, widely apart cephalad and approaching caudad in ventral view, broader than uncus caudad; tegumen narrow in lateral view, centrally expanded in dorsal view and flaring cephalad, ventral arm combining with dorsal arm of saccus, this combined structure bent well ventrad of its middle; anterior arm of saccus of moderate length and thin, straight, slightly shorter than length of uncus and dorsal portion of tegumen, moderately broad caudad in ventral view, narrowing gradually to blunt point cephalad; valva simple, no differentiation between costa and ampulla, latter produced dorso-caudad to small pointed triangular and slightly incurved process near juncture with harpe, harpe angled caudad, caudal edge finely serrate before another small, pointed, and slightly curved inward triangular processs that is oriented dorso-caudad, sacculus narrow, ventral edge of valva concave cephalad of middle; aedeagus straight, stout, about 1.3 times length of valva, caudal end slightly expanded and asymmetrically rounded, no titillator; vesica with cornuti including an elongate and lightly sclerotized flexible spinulose pad and two heavily sclerotized structures, these broad cephalad (when extruded) and narrow abruptly to long, sharply pointed, and spike-like caudal ends.

Female ( Fig. 49-50 ) - forewing length = 15.6, 16.0 mm (N=2;. from Guerrero, Mexico); forewing apex less pointed than on male, termen convex (more so than on male); hindwing termen convex cephalad (more so than on male), slightly concave caudad before weakly lobate tornus; dorsum dark brown; sparse yellow-orange overscaling basad, more dense yellow-orange overscaling in middle 1/2 of anal cell; translucent white macules as follows: subapical in R 3 -R 4, R 4 -R 5, and R 5 -M 1, quadrate and overlapping, increasing in size caudad; postmedial M 3 -CuA 1, quadrate, offset distad and not overlapping larger quadrate macule in CuA 1 -CuA 2, hourglass-shaped at distal end of discal cell, latter three macules narrowly outlined with orange; opaque pale yellow-orange macule mid-cell in posterior CuA 2 -2A; fringe pale brown mixed with yellow-orange cephalad, pale yellow-orange caudad of 2A.

Dorsal hindwing largely brown, yellow-orange submarginal macules from Rs to mid-cell CuA 2 -2A, that in Rs-M 1 offset proximad from remainder of series, divided in M 1 -M 3 by single line of brown scales; sparse long pale orange setiform scales in base of discal cell, in proximal 3/4 of CuA 2 -2A and more densely along vein 2A nearly to termen; fringe pale brown mixed with dull yellow-orange.

Ventral forewing largely orange-brown cephalad, macules as on dorsum except that in 2A duller; black in base of Sc-R 1, R 1 -R 2, and in discal cell to distal macule; black in CuA 1 -CuA 2 and CuA 2 -2A proximad of macules; dark brown (nearly black) in CuA 1 -CuA 2 distad of macule to about 1/2 distance to termen, distad in CuA

2

-2, and in entire anal cell; fringe brown cephalad, dull yellow-orange caudad of 2A.

Ventral hindwing as on male, but duller; fringe pale brown cephalad, dull yellow-orange caudad of 2A.

Dorsal head olive-orange, few white or pale orange scales above and behind and pale yellow below eye; palpi quadrate, olive-orange and a few black setiform scales on dorsum becoming yellow-orange mixed with black scales on sides and venter, 3rd segment black, stout, not exceeding scales of 2nd segment; antennae of moderate length (49% of costal length), entirely black on dorsum, venter black checked with yellow, yellow broadening distad, club long (45% of length of shaft), yellow and black, nudum red-brown, darker distad, 11 (n=2) segments; dorsal thorax black covered with pale orange setiform scales; ventral thorax black with olive-orange setiform scales, pectus yellow-orange; legs olive-orange distad, brown proximad with yellow-orange setiform scales on femur and tibia, protibia smooth, red-brown epiphysis reaching beyond junction with tarsus, mesotibia spined, single pair of spurs, outer 1/2 length of inner, metatibia spined, two pairs of spurs, outer about 2/3 length of inner.

Genitalia ( Fig. 94 ) - lamellae broad, caudal edge of lamella postvaginalis lobate, lobes separated narrowly by shallow U-shaped excavation, lamella antevaginalis narrower than lamella postvaginalis, excavate centrally into broad V-shape, ostium bursae about twice as broad as deep; ductus bursae sclerotized, broad in ventral view and relatively long (2.3 mm including antrum), slightly constricted in middle, relatively straight in ventral view but somewhat twisted to left, straight and expanding cephalad in lateral view, numerous thin internal sclerotized plates; corpus bursae broad, less than 2 times as long as broad, weakly wrinkled longitudinally.

Specimens examined. MEXICO: no further data (1 male; BMNH) ; MEXICO: Guerrero; Mpio. Atoyac, La Golondrina , 1800m, 28 January 1987, leg. A. Luis-M. (1 male; MZFC), same locality and collector, 23 February 1984 (1 male; MZFC), 31 March 1983 (3 males; MZFC) ; Mpio. Chilpancingo, Omiltemi , 2300m, 18 January 1984, leg. A. Luis-M. (1 male; MZFC), same locality and collector, 17 March 1985 (1 male; MZFC), 20 November 1984 (1 male; MZFC) ; Omilteme [Omiltemi], 8000’, July , leg. H. H. Smith (3 males including holotype; BMNH) ; Mpio. Tlacotepec , El Iris, 2100m, 10 January 1983, leg. A. Luis-M. (1 male; MZFC), same locality and collector, 29 March 1983 (4 males; MZFC), 4 December 1984 (2 males; MZFC) ; Camino a Palohueco , 20 October 1985, leg. A. Luis M. (1 female; MZFC) ; El Chayotillo , 2450m, 3 April 1985, leg. A. Luis-M. (2 males; MZFC) ; Laguna de Agua Fria , 31 May 1985 (2 males; MZFC), same location, 1 June 1985, in fermenting fruit bait trap (1 female, ADW #97-111; MZFC), 19 October 1985 (1 male; MZFC), 24 October 1985 (6 males; MZFC), 7 November 1985 (6 males, ADW #97-112; MZFC) ; Presa la Perra , 3 November 1985, leg. A. Luis-M. (1 male; MZFC) ; MEXICO: Oaxaca: Mpio. San Mateo Río Hondo, Manzanal-Doncella , 2680m, 26 November 2007, M. Trujano Ortega (1 male; MZFC) ; Mpio. San Miguel Suchixtepec, Hwy. 175, Arroyo Puente El Guajolote , 2050-2150m, 18 October 2008, leg. A. D. Warren (1 male; ADWC) .

Distribution and phenology. This species is known only from the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mexico, at elevations between 1800 and 2680 m. It has been recorded in all months except August and September, but mostly from October to March (16 of 20 records, 32 of 40 specimens).

Biological notes. Neposa heras , together with other taxa of Neposa , is very rare in collections. Before its rediscovery in 1983 by field workers from the MZFC, this species was known only from the five males in the BMNH ( Evans 1955), three of which are the original types, from Omiltemi, Sierra de Atoyac (Sierra Madre del Sur), Guerrero. Between January 1983 and January 1987, MZFC researchers collected 33 males and two females of N. heras , all in a small region centered around its type locality. It was thus a surprise when N. heras was taken in the Sierra Madere del Sur of Oaxaca in November of 2007 and October of 2008. While N. heras appears to be locally abundant in the Omiltemi region, the same cannot be said about its occurrence in Oaxaca. The Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca has been studied by lepidopterists for several years (e.g., Miller 1972, de la Maza and Díaz 1978, Miller and Miller 1979, Miller and Rotger 1979, de la Maza and Lamas 1982, de la Maza and de la Maza 1983), including recently for Hesperiidae (e.g., Burns 1992b). Despite this attention, N. heras escaped detection in that area until 2007. Available records suggest that N. heras occurs in the coniferous forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca at least between 2050 and 2680 m, but is apparently quite scarce there. The single live male observed by the junior author (Arroyo Puente El Guajolote, 18 October, 2008) was perching in a small sunny opening in montane coniferous forest, at about 13:00 h, nearly one meter above ground level. This site contains several grasses including Chusquea .

Discussion. The male of Neposa heras and its genitalia were well illustrated with its original description ( Godman and Salvin 1879 -1901); male genitalia were subsequently illustrated, rather poorly, by Evans (1955). Females, not previously described or illustrated, are very different from their male, exhibiting dimorphism similar to that seen in a number of species treated earlier herein. These are very dark dorsally with white and orange macules, resembling several other species occurring at higher elevations (see discussion of Onespa above).

Figures

Figure 37-60. Librita and Neposa (full data in text; ds = dorsal surface, vs = ventral surface; scale bar = 10mm). 37) L. librita, male (holotype of Augiades hecale), Guerrero, Mexico, ds; 38) same, vs; 39) L. librita, male, Michoacán, Mexico, 27 July 1996, ds; 40) same, vs; 41) L. librita, female, Chiapas, Mexico, 19-23 October 1971, ds; 42) same, vs; 43) L. librita, female, Michoacán, Mexico, 23 July 1997, ds; 44) same, vs; 45) N. heras, holotype male, Guerrero, Mexico, ds; 46) same, vs; 47) N. heras, male, Oaxaca, Mexico, 19 October 2008, ds; 48) same, vs; 49) N. heras, female, Guerrero, Mexico, ds; 50) same, vs; 51) N. hestia, holotype female, Veracruz, Mexico, 8 April 1990, ds; 52) same, vs; 53) N. isabelae, holotype male, Guatemala, 22 October 1965, ds; 54) same, vs; 55) N. isabelae, paratype male, Guatemala, 4 December 1965, ds; 56) same, vs; 57) N. armandoi, holotype male, Oaxaca, Mexico, 23 September 2007, ds; 58) same, vs; 59) N. armandoi, paratype male, Oaxaca, Mexico, 25 October 2008, ds; 60) same, vs.

Figure 71-74. Male genitalia of Librita and Neposa (full data in text; shown are lateral view of uncus, gnathos, tegumen, and saccus; dorsal view of uncus and tegumen; ventral view of gnathos uncus; internal view of right valva; ventral view of saccus; ventral, dorsal, right lateral and/or left lateral views of aedeagus; scale bar = 1 mm). 71) L. librita, Chiapas, Mexico (SRS #3425); 72) N. armandoi, Oaxaca, Mexico, holotype (GTA #14143); 73) N. heras, Guerrero, Mexico (ADW #97-112); 74) N. isabelae, Guatemala, paratype (ADW #98-15).

Figure 75-86. Rigid cornuti of Onespa, Buzyges, Librita, and Neposa (full data in text; shown are lateral and dorsal views). 75) O. nubis, El Salvador (SRS #4803); 76) O. gala, Michoacán, Mexico (GTA #14065); 77) O. brockorum, Sonora, Mexico, paratype (SRS #1852); 78) O. nakamura, Costa Rica, holotype (GTA #14033); 79) B. idothea, Costa Rica (ADW #97-102); 80) B. rolla, Costa Rica (GTA #14055); 81) B. benito, Oaxaca, Mexico (SRS #4468); 82) B. mellanaformis, Costa Rica, paratype (GTA #14031); 83) L. librita, Veracruz, Mexico (GTA #14135); 84) N. heras, Guerrero, Mexico (ADW #97-112); 85) N. armandoi, Oaxaca, Mexico, holotype (GTA #14143); 86) N. isabelae, Guatemala, paratype (ADW #98-15).

Figure 93-95. Female genitalia of Librita and Neposa (full data in text; shown are left lateral and ventral views; scale bar = 1 mm). 93) L. librita, Oaxaca, Mexico (GTA #14137); 94) N. heras, Guerrero, Mexico (ADW #97-111); 95) N. hestia, Veracruz, Mexico, holotype (SRS #3738).