Thespea Solovyev, 2014

Singh, Navneet, Ahmad, Jalil, Chandra, Kailash & Solovyev, Alexey V., 2021, A new species of the genus Thespea Solovyev and four newly recorded species of Limacodidae from India (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea), Zootaxa 4927 (1), pp. 123-132 : 124

Genus Thespea Solovyev, 2014

Thespea Solovyev, 2014: 38 .

Type species. Neaera bicolor Walker, 1855 (by original designation) (TL: North India) .

Distribution. Indian sub-region to Sumatra and Java ( Solovyev 2014).

Diagnosis. The genus Thespea is distinguished on the basis of: i) in both sexes, usually green forewings with marginal series of small brown spots, ii) in the male genitalia, the valva is generally distally divided into saccular (valvula) and costal processes (cucullus) and iii) vesica with a long row of claw-like or saw shaped cornutus ( Solovyev 2014).

Taxonomic notes. The genus Thespea is an Oriental genus and many of its species are externally similar to the members of Soteira Solovyev, 2014, although smaller in size, and antenna shows longer rami basally. Another similar genus is Circeida Solovyev, 2014, but the genus Thespea is distinguishable by the male genitalia: i) absence of anellus processes (in Circeida the anellus bears a pair of strongly sclerotized naked spurs), ii) vesica with typical saw shaped cornutus and iii) valva with distal saccular process (in Circeida vesica is without cornutus and distal saccular process). With the new species we describe here, the genus Thespea is represented by 26 species, with five species and one subspecies recorded from India ( T. bicolor bicolor ( Walker, 1855) ; T. bicolor teala Solovyev, 2014 ; T. argyroneura ( Hering, 1931) ; T. heringi Solovyev, 2014 ; T. albipuncta (Hampson, 1892) and T. aka sp. nov.).