Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky, 2018

Krupitsky, A. V., Shapoval, N. A. & Shapoval, G. N., 2022, Notes on the preimaginal stages and the type locality of Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky, 2018 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), Far Eastern Entomologist 466, pp. 9-15 : 10-14

Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky, 2018

Figs 1–6 , 10

MATERIAL. China: Sichuan Prov., Songpan County, Chuanzhusi env., 32°46'16.32" N ,

103°37'02.17" E, 3000 m, 27.VI 2019, 1 larva, A. V. Krupitsky leg. ( AKM); 2 km W Chuanzhusi , 32°46'59.92" N, 103°35'30.99" E, 3100 m, 28.VI 2019, 1 larva, A. V. Krupitsky leg.

( AKM); same locality, larva 28. VI .2019, pupa 05.VII.2019, A. V. Krupitsky leg. ( AKM) ; same locality, larva 28. VI 2019, pupa 07.VII 2019, imago ♂ 06.XI 2019, A. V. Krupitsky leg.

( AKM). China: Sichuan Prov., Songpan County, Chuanzhusi env., Limpo , 32°46'10.58" N ,

103°38'29.46" E, 3200 m, 19.VI 2019, 1♀, A.A. Marusov leg. ( AKM); 1♂ with original label “СЫ-ч., Сунпань. / 9500 ф. и вЫше. / БереЗовск. 24.IV.94” [= China, Sichuan Prov.,

Songpan county / 9500 ft. [2900 m] [above sea level] and higher / M.M. Berezovsky leg.

IMMATURE STAGES. Last-instar larva ( Figs 1, 2 ) onisciform, length about 10.0–12.0

mm, pale green with two whitish longitudinal bands on dorsal surface and whitish longitudinal lateral line on each side, bearing two rows of protuberances with whitish apices. Spiracles whitish. Larva densely covered with two kinds of setae: short light, covering entire body, and longer brownish setae situated on head and along dorsal and lateral longitudinal bands.

Prepupa ( Fig. 3 ) uniformly emerald green, flattened. Pupa ( Figs 4, 5 ) about 8.0 mm long,

dark brown with mottled pattern, tegument densely covered with short brown setae.

larva; 3 – prepupa; 4 – pupa; 5 – pupal exuvium; 6 – adult emerging from pupa.

The only Cissatsuma species with described preimaginal stages is C. zhoujingshuae . Lastinstar larva of C. berezowskii differs from the latter in smoother body with less developed protuberances, while the colouration of larva, as well as the shape and colouration of the pupa, are similar in both species.

NATURAL HISTORY. A worn female of C. berezowskii was spotted on a twig of Spiraea lasiocarpa ( Figs 7, 8 ) on 19 June, and further search for larvae was carried out on this plant.

We inspected about 200 plants of S. lasiocarpa , and only four last-instar larvae were collected from three plants. Three of them were collected during a two kilometer route in a valley east

Chuanzhusi town ( Fig. 9 ). It is noteworthy that two larvae were collected from the same plant.

Larvae seem to hide deep in the inflorescens of the host plant. Soon after transferring to another host plant in a laboratory, one larva died. One caterpillar was parasitized with a hymenopteran larva, one pupa did not reach adulthood, and one was reared to the adult stage without overwintering but failed to spread its wings ( Fig 6 ). In both cases, pupation took place on the bottom of individual boxes. The duration of the final instars after capturing was

8 and 10 days (both caterpillars were collected on 28 June), the prepupa lasted 2 days in both cases. The duration of the pupal stage was 22 weeks.

2018 labeled as “Guihuagou vill. env., ca. 32°27'28.4" N, 103°42'12.5" E, M.M. Berezovsky leg. 24.IV.1894 ” ( ZISP); 11 – example of supplementary label of the elfin butterflies collected by Berezowsky at the same locality but 06.V.1894; 12 – type locality of C. berezowskii (red square) and collecting sites of pupae and imago near Chuanzhusi (red circles) .

Among the species of the genus Cissatsuma , host plants of only one species, namely C.

zhoujingshuae, are known. According to the surveys by Huang & Zhou (2014), larvae of this species utilize two Rosaceae shrubs, Spiraea fritschiana and Aruncus sylvester . It is noteworthy that caterpillars feeding on different plants slightly differ in colouration (Huang &

Zhou, 2014). Our search for elfin butterflies larvae on Aruncus shrubs in the examined localities were unsuccessful.

TYPE LOCALITY AND DISTRIBUTION. One more specimen of C. berezowskii bearing the same label as the type specimens was found in the collection of ZISP ( Fig. 10 ). Additionally, a series of an elfin butterfly species tentatively determined by us as Ahlbergia oppocoenosa

(Johnson, 1992), comprising six males and a female, was found in the same drawer. These specimens are supplied with the same printed labels as C. berezowskii from ZISP collection

(“СЫ-ч., Сунпань. / 9500 ф. и вЫше. / БереЗовск.”, ( China, Sichuan Prov., Songpan County /

9500 ft. [2900 m] [above sea level] and higher / M.M. Berezovsky leg.) differing in collection dates. Moreover, some of these specimens also bear hand-written specifying labels “Сунпань,

Гуйхуа” (Songpan [County], Guihua) ( Fig. 11 ). The only locality in Songpan County contain-

ing this toponym is Guihuagou (归化沟), a village situated at 32°27'28.4" N, 103°42'12.5" E exactly at 2900 m ( Fig. 12 ). There are no accessible travel diaries of Berezovsky confirming the exact localities of the specimens from his expeditions, so we assume the environs of the abovementioned village as the type locality of C. berezowskii . Our finding also clarifies

Berezovsky’s route during his expedition to China in 1891–1894 and can help in further geographical attribution of materials from his zoological collection. Guihuagou is the most possible type locality of lycaenid species Grumiana berezowskii (Grum-Grshimailo, 1902)

and Patricius lucina (Grum-Grshimailo, 1902) . Both species were collected by Berezovsky and supplied with the above-mentioned printed labels differing in collection dates.

Currently, the known distribution range of C. berezowskii covers a small area in the Min

River upper reaches at 2900–3200 m. Taking into account all the known findings, C. berezowskii can be treated as an endemic of the western Min Mountains. In the Yangdong River valley, 2 km northwest Chuanzhusi, C. berezowskii cohabits with recently described epicopeiid moth Deuveia panda Krupitsky et Shapoval, 2020 , which is also known from the western

Min Mountains so far (Krupitsky & Shapoval, 2020).

Figures

Figs 1–6. Development of Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky, 2018. 1, 2 – last-instar

Figs 10–12. Adult, label and type locality. 10 – male of Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky,

Figs 7–9. Host plant and habitat of Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky, 2018. 7, 8 – Spiraea lasiocarpa, host plant; 9 – a valley east Chuanzhusi town (Songpan County, Sichuan Province).