Synopsis of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) of Costa Rica Author García-Díaz, José De Jesús Posgrado en Ciencias, Instituto de Ecología A. C., Red de Biodiversidad y Sistemática, Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91073 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico; Sociedad Mexicana de Lepidopterología A. C. Author Espinoza-Sanabria, Bernardo A. BioAlfa, Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund Costa Rica, 749 - 1000, San José, Costa Rica Author Worthy, Robert 10 The Hill, Church Hill, Caterham, Surrey CR 3 6 SD, U. K. Author González, Jorge M. Austin Achieve Public Schools, Austin, Texas, (Research Associate, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity), USA Author Janzen, Daniel H. Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA Author Hallwachs, Winnie Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA text Zootaxa 2024 2024-07-16 5481 2 151 202 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5481.2.1 journal article 299958 10.11646/zootaxa.5481.2.1 469b4a0d-ce4c-48c6-80ea-a54ba1c0703c 1175-5326 12749637 547F19D4-4558-4D8A-8D01-2ECCCB133A5D VI. Athis Hübner, [1819] Athis is the Castniidae genus with the largest number of species (currently 17) and one of the genera of this family with the widest distribution in the Americas, ranging from northern Mexico throughout Central America and through South America to Peru , Bolivia , and Brazil , with the presence of some species on three Caribbean islands ( Pierre & Pierre-Baltus 2003 ; González 2004; González & Cock 2004 ; González et al. 2006 ; Pierre et al. 2008 ; Vinciguerra et al. 2011; Pierre & Lalanne-Cassou 2014 ). Bromeliads have been reported as hosts, with some Athis species known to feed on species of the genera Billbergia Thunberg, 1821 , Hechtia Klotzsch, 1835 and Tillandsia L., 1753 (González 2004; González et al. 2006 ; González et al. 2021 ; García-Díaz et al. 2019 , 2020 , 2022; García-Díaz 2022b ; iNaturalist 2023). Most Athis species have triangular forewings with a characteristic wing pattern, they have a tawny brown forewing base and a diagonal band that runs from the wing base to the subapical region; one to three white or translucent spots are present in the apical region (González 2004; González et al. 2021 ; García-Díaz 2022b ; García-Díaz et al. 2022). Curiously, not much is known about the ecology, behavior, and life cycle of most of these species (Vinciguerra et al. 2011), although some authors have written briefly about them ( i.e. González & Fernández-Yépez 1992 , Pierre & Pierre-Baltus 2003 ; González 2004; González et al . 2006 , 2021 ; Pierre et al . 2008 ; García-Díaz et al. 2019 , 2020 , 2022; García-Díaz 2022b ). The rarity of some Athis species is evident, as is the case with A. ahala (H. Druce, 1896 ) , A. analibiae ( Espinoza-Sanabria & González, 2005 ) , A. delecta ( Schaus, 1911 ) , A. jaliscana López-Godínez & Porion, 2012 and A. pirrelloi Vinciguerra, 2011 , which are known from just a few specimens.