Alesa esmeralda Salazar & Constantino, 2007

Santos, Wildio Ikaro Da Graça, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2023, A review of the South American metalmark genus Alesa Doubleday, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae: Eurybiini) with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5284 (1), pp. 77-120 : 85

Alesa esmeralda Salazar & Constantino, 2007

Figs 3–4 , 92

Alesa esmeralda Salazar & Constantino, 2007 . Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. U. Caldas 11: 168, figs 33, 34 (male d, v), 37 (male gen.); holotype male, Colombia, Cauca, Río Villalobos, bota caucana, 1.100m, 3-IV-1993, J. Salazar leg., collection Julián Salazar.—Constantino & Salazar, 2007. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. U. Caldas 11: 358, fig. 66 (male d).— Hall & Ahrenholz, 2010. Trop. Lep. Res. 20: 21.— Gallard & Fernandez, 2015. Bull. Soc. ent. France 120 (2): 136.

Diagnosis. Alesa esmeralda (male forewing length: 24mm, n=1) is most similar to A. prema . Alesa esmeralda is distinguished by the forewings upper side with the discal cell spot, postbasal and basal bands merged; discal cell spot merged to discal band. Female unknown.

Type material. Alesa esmeralda Salazar & Constatino, 2007 was described based on the male holotype from Colombia with the following data: Cauca, Río Villalobos , bota caucana, 1.100 m, J. Salazar leg. 3.IV.1993, deposited at the CJS.

Distribution. Alesa esmeralda is known from the cloud forest in the mid elevation of the eastern Andes of Colombia at its type locality and possibly in Putumayo ( Salazar & Constantino 2007). ( Fig. 92 ).

Comments. Alesa esmeralda is a poorly known species, known only from a single specimen. The forewings upper side pattern of A. esmeralda resembles closely the pattern of A. prema . These two species are only distinguished by the longer forewing upper side bands of A. esmeralda , distinctively merged and broken between postbasal and discal bands, whereas in A. prema the bands are unbroken or only partially merged. The emerald color pattern of the wings upper side used to name A. esmeralda is also observed in some specimens of A. prema ( Fig. 7 ), and no differences in male genitalia were noted. Consequently, the status of A. esmeralda as a valid species has been questioned ( Hall & Ahrenholz 2010) and further studies are necessary.

Examined material. COLOMBIA — Cauca: Río Villalobos, 1.100m, 3.IV.1993, male holotype, J. Salazar leg. ( CJS) (examined from images) .

Figures

FIGURES 7. Variation of wings upper side of males of Alesa prema. A, Brasil, Rio de Janeiro: Guapimirim (DZ 34.826). B, Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor (DZ 35.034). C, Brazil, Amazonas: S„o Paulo de Olivença (DZ 34.896). D–G, Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor (DZ 34.804, DZ 35.024, DZ 35.074, DZ 34.814). H, Brazil, Distrito Federal: Brasília, Rio Maranh„o (DZ 48.127).

FIGURES 92. Geographic distribution of Alesa prema and A. esmeralda.

FIGURES 1–6. Males of species of “prema group”, part I, in dorsal and ventral views (left to right). 1–2, A. prema Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional Serra do Divisor (DZ 34.804). 3–4, A. esmeralda Colômbia, Cauca: river Villalobos (holotype, CJS). 5–6, A. beneluzi French Guiana, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni: route d’Apatou (holotype, MNHN). Scale bar: 1cm.