Utetheisa henrii Roque-Albelo & B. Landry, 2009

Roque-Albelo, Lazaro & Landry, Bernard, 2009, Two new species of Utetheisa Hübner (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Arctiinae) from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, ZooKeys 21 (2), pp. 55-72 : 67-71

Utetheisa henrii Roque-Albelo & B. Landry , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:85B5B499-10E2-4526-A8E4-6130A90A7763

Figs 3, 6, 10, 13

Material examined: Holotype: ♁, 1- ‘ ECUADOR | GALÁPAGOS | San Cristóbal | pampa zone | 18.II.1989, M[ercury] V [apour]L[amp] | B. Landry’ [printed black on

white card stock, with ‘ECUADOR’ sideways on left]; 2- ‘ HOLOTYPE | Utetheisa | henrii | Roque-Albelo & | B. Landry’ [handwritten in black ink on red card stock]; 3- ‘BL 1654 ♁’ [handwritten in black ink on green paper]; 4- ‘Database # | CNC LEP | 00041388’ [printed in black on white card stock]. Deposited in the CNC.

Paratypes: 3 ♁, 2 ♀: – 1 ♀ (dissected, slide BL 1653 ), same data as holotype except date (15.II.1989) ( CNC) ; 1 ♁, ‘ ECUADOR [sideways on left side] | GALAPAGOS | San Cristóbal, 4 | km SE P[uer]to Baquarizo [sic] | 20.II.1989, MVL | B. Landry’ ( MHNG) ; 1 ♁ (dissected, slide LR 177 ) ‘ECU. GALAPAGOS. San Cristóbal | El Chino. ( R. Criollo ) | S 0° 54’ 53.5’’ W 89° 27’ 15.4’’ | 195msnm 2–3.XII.2002. L. Guamán | T. Luz. (Hortalizas Frutales)’ ( IC-CDRS) ; 1 ♀ ‘ECU. GALAPAGOS. San Cristóbal | El Chino. ( R. Criollo ) | S 0° 54’ 53.5’’ W 89° 27’ 15.4’’ 195msnm | 2–3. XII.2002. L. Guamán | T. Luz. (Hortalizas Frutales)’ ( IC-CDRS) ; 1 ♁ (dissected, LR 179 ) ‘ECU. GALAPAGOS. San Cristóbal | Goteras. (M. Davis [farm]) | S 0° 52’ 17.1’’ W 89° 26’ 18.8’’ 359msnm | 4–5.XII.2002. L. Guamán, J. Loaiza | T. Luz. ( Brachiaria sp.)’. Deposited in CNC, IC-CDRS, and MHNG .

Diagnosis: Among the Galapagos endemic species of Utetheisa , U. henrii (Fig. 3) has a dull pattern similar to that of U. connerorum (Fig. 4) except that U. henrii has a wider and straighter median line and the apical 1/5 of the forewing is wholly darker brown. Also, the male flagellum of U. henrii has shorter and thicker pectinations (compare Figs 6 and 7), and in male genitalia (Fig. 10) the uncus is thicker and shorter, the median part of the cucullus is more strongly produced, the left side of the phallus subapically is without a spined, elongate, triangular projection, the vesica has a clear set of spines dorsally where U. connerorum (Fig. 11) has a series of circular, sclerotized knobs. U. connerorum also often has 1–3 additional spines dorsally at the level of the knobs on the right side (4 specimens examined, one without these spines, two with one spine), and the narrower, dorsodistal extension of the vesica is longer in U. henrii . In female genitalia the main difference lies in the shape of the apex of sternum VII which in U. connerorum (Fig. 14) is narrower and has the lateral extensions longer, apically rounded, with the gap between them forming a narrow U, and altogether supporting dorsally the lateral walls of the antrum. Th e signa, ductus bursae, and ventral extension connecting with the ductus seminalis in U. henrii (Fig. 13) are also more strongly developed.

Description: MALE (n=4) (Figs 3, 6, 10). Head: Smooth scaled, with thinner scales on frons converging medioventrally, with ocelli, scales mixed dark to light brown but white along margin of eye and base of antenna; frons slightly rounded, without frontal protuberances; eye as wide as 3/10 of width of whole head in frontal view. Labial palpus small, projected slightly forward and upward, brown with white scales on basal segment and base of second segment laterally. Antenna bipectinate (Fig. 6), light brown scaled dorsally, with white scales ventrally on scape and pedicel; some flagellomeres with one thin seta sticking out of scale cover and about as long as one flagellomere, flagellomeres ventrally covered with short cilia; longest pectinations slightly shorter than width of corresponding flagellomere; each pectination distally adorned with long, curved, thick seta 2× length of pectination, and shorter, thinner seta from base of pectination dorsally and reaching tip of pectination or beyond (absent of some lateral pectinations).

Two new species of Utetheisa Hübner from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador 69

b a c d

Figure II. Male genitalia of Utetheisa connerorum sp. n., slide BL 1652. a Whole genitalia without phallus b Phallus c Enlarged vesica d Enlarged vesica from slide MHNG ENTO 5084.

Thorax: Patagia brown flecked with beige; tegulae brown with hair-like whitish scales on edges and apex; mesothorax as collar; metathorax white-scaled. Legs mostly dark greyish brown on tibia and tarsi, flecked with pale beige especially on hindleg; coxae, trochanters, and femurs paler, white to beige, more or less flecked with brown. Forewing length: 14–16 mm (holotype: 16 mm). Coloration superficially brown with darker markings in faint postbasal, curved line, straight, well-marked, thick median fascia, faint, postmedian waved line, and well-marked, darker terminal 1/5; under magnification covered with mixture of light beige, dark brown, and brown scales. Hindwing light greyish brown; with diffuse brown marginal band slightly more apparent at apex of CuA2. Underside of wings less evidently marked than upperside and paler.

Abdomen: whitish brown. Genitalia (n=3) (Fig. 10). Uncus rather thick, moderately long, with short setae dorsally before distal 1/3 and ventrally before apex, swollen subapically, with curved, sharply pointed, downturned apex. Cucullus with median section broadly produced dorsally, with somewhat wrinkled edge, markedly narrowing into short, apical section with rounded apex. Corema broad, not reaching apex of cucullus, with long spatulated androconial scales on base of medium width and length, and short-stalked, bulbous ones on distal 2/3. Ampulla short, thumb-like, with mostly short setae, especially toward apex. Phallus cylindrical, distal third with lateral walls unsclerotized, ventral and dorsal sclerotized areas adorned with scobination subapically; vesica with 5–8 small cornuti mediodorsally, dorsodistal narrower extension long, curved back almost to apex of sclerotized phallus shaft.

FEMALE (n=2) (Fig. 13). Color and maculation as in male. Antenna with flagellomeres slightly biserrate, some with seta sticking out dorsally, ventrally with short hyaline cilia, with thick seta at distal end of each serration about ¼ longer than one flagellomere, also with one lateral seta on each serration about half as long as distal seta. Forewing length: 16–17 mm. Frenulum with 2 acanthae. Genitalia (n=1) (Fig. 13). Papillae anales short, rounded, rather well sclerotized, with short setation along apical margin and especially as thick cluster at base dorsally, with long setae sparsely distributed on most of surface. Apophyses of moderate length and thickness; posteriores slightly more than 2× length of anteriores, approximately reaching edge of ostium in extension. Segment VIII narrow, sternum desclerotized medially. Apex of sternum VII forming pair of short, blunt posterior extensions separated by broad V; ventral margin of V with descaled, scobinated ‘collar’ anteriorly closed by narrow scaled rim. Antrum wide, 2/3 as wide as tergum VIII, thickly sclerotized, scobinated. Ductus bursae with posterior section dorsoventrally compressed, rather short, slightly wider than antrum, thickly sclerotized, scobinated, posteriorly curved at right angle dorsally and then again anteriorly; anterior section slightly wider, less thickly sclerotized, without scobination, forming one twist. Appendix bursae sclerotized and ridged, dextrally curved, of medium length, with few spinules on right side, narrowing before connecting with ductus seminalis. Corpus bursae circular, membranous with pattern of small hexagons, about 1/4 longer than ductus bursae; signa a pair of small, limpet-shaped, oval, short-spined, internal projections.

Biology. Unknown, found on the humid zone of San Cristobal. Host plants are probably members of the genus Tournefortia as in the other endemic species of Utetheisa .

Figures I2–I4. Female genitalia of Galapagos Utetheisa species I2 U. galapagensis (Wallengren) , holotype, slide BL 1655 I3 U. henrii sp. n., slide BL 1653 I4 U. connerorum sp. n., slide BL 1662.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of H.R.H. Grand-Duke Henri of Luxembourg for his most generous support to the Charles Darwin Foundation and the conservation of the Galapagos Islands.

Distribution. Presumed to be endemic. Currently known only from the Galapagos Island of San Cristóbal.