Saliocleta notia Schintlmeister, 1997

Pellinen, Markku J., 2017, Description of a new species of Saliocleta Walker, 1862 (Lepidoptera, Notodontidae, Spatalinae, Ceirini) and description of S. notia Schintlmeister, 1997 female from Thailand, Zootaxa 4353 (3) : -

Saliocleta notia Schintlmeister, 1997

( Figs. 2 , 9 and 10)

Taxonomic note. This species, described from Vietnam, has since been incorrectly figured e.g., Moths of Thailand, plate 11 fig 75, is not notia ). Here is presented a diagnosis and redescription for the male and female. The female was previously unknown.

FLATE 1 . FIGURE 1. Saliocleta puyak sp. n. a. male Thailand, Chae Hom , 17.x.2014 ; b. male (holotype), Thailand, Chae Hom , 12.ix.2015 .

PLATE2 . FIGURE 6. Saliocleta puyak sp. n. (holotype) Thailand, Chae Hom , 12.ix.2015 gen.prep. MJP no 722. a. male genitalia b. male 8th segment c. male aedeagus.

Diagnosis. A medium size species of Saliocleta , externally similar to S. widagdoi Schintlmeister ( Fig. 3) and S. nonagrioides Walker ( Fig. 5), from which it is easily separated by its roundish forewing tornus, which is angled in those two species. These species are also easily separated by male genitalia; only S. widagdoi has paddle-shape socii ( Fig. 7 ), but the uncus apex is broader. Female genitalia of Saliocleta species are not very helpful for separating species. S. notia resembles also S. postfusca Kiriakoff 1962 (Figs. 4 and 8). This species have no paddleshape socii and sclerotized flaps in sternite eight.

Females (5 exx.): 1 ex. Thailand, Lampang, Muban Phichai 18°18.15´N 99°31.06´E 240 m, 0 6.07.2012, 1 ex. idem 0 6.08.2012, 1 ex. idem 27.05.2013 (ex.o.), 1 ex. idem 28.05.2013 (ex.o.), 1 ex. idem 31.05.2013 (ex.o.) (all in coll MJP).

PLATE3 . FIGURE 9. Saliocleta notia male Thailand, Chae Hom , 13.vi.2015 gen.prep. MJP no 686. a. male genitalia b. aedeagus (vesica everted) c. aedeagus. d. 8th segment (holotype) gen. S . Vietnam, Bao Loc , Rung Cat Tien 11°32´N, 107°48´E 1500 m 20-27.iv . 1993 gen. prep. A. Schintlemeister GU-29-77 e. male genitalia, f. aedeagus, g. 8th segment. FIGURE 10. Saliocleta notia female Thailand, Chae Hom, 06.viii.2015 gen.prep. MJP no 818. a. male genitalia b and c. male aedeagus d. male 8th segment.

Description. Male ( Fig. 2 a, b ). Forewing length 20–22 mm, wingspan 39–44 mm. Ground colour straw yellow with dark suffusion. Antenna short ciliate, brown; labial palpus upwards tapering, yellowish laterally, black mesally. Thorax same colour as forewings but darker with light yellow patagia and tegula. Forewing elongated, apex rounded. Termen even, lighter straw coloured, tornus not very sharp angeled. Colouration varying from straw yellow to brown with mixed darker scales. A dark brown stripe from apex to mid dorsum and ocassionally a dark blackish medial spot below discal area; dark submarginal and marginal spots on veins, the former being more clear. Hindwing uniformly dark brown. Underside uniformly brown grey. Abdomen densely scaleded, dorsally same colour as hindwing, except two terminalsegments lighter grey. Underside of abdomen bearing cteniophores on fourth sternite. Sternite of eight segment with strong lobate sclerotized flaps (Fig. 9 d). Male genitalia (Fig. 9 a–g). Vinculum semicircular with a small apical notch. Tegumen hood-like; valva moderately long and broad, apically rounded, with easily detached long hair-like scales, especially dense on sacculus. Juxta semicircular, tightly surrounding aedeagus. Uncus triancular with a somewhat broad rounded shorthaired tip; socii strong paddleshaped. Aedeagus ( Fig. 7 b, c and f ) stout, tubular, curved distally; vesica round with some cornuti and scobination at the base of gonophore.

Female ( Fig. 2 c ) Forewing 24–26 mm, wingspan 49–54 mm, but otherwise externally as male, without dark discal spot. Antenna filiform. Female genitalia (Fig. 10) Papillae anales soft distally blunt, with setae, longest subbasally. Apophyses posteriores longer and narrower than apophyses anteriores. Ductus bursae relatively long, with a curved bulge dorsally. Corpus bursae ovoid without scobination, but with two shell-like spiculose signa quite close to each other (Figs. 10 a and b). In uncopulated females these signa are attached to each other (Fig. 10 d).

Remarks for Saliocleta male genitalia. Vesica of many Saliocleta species have several loose spikes (Figs. 9 c and 10 c), which are moved to females corpus bursae during mating. These spikes makes everting the vesica properly extremely difficult. Common phenomen to many Ceirini ( Cordero & Miller, 2012; Miller, 1991). In several cases Saliocleta male aedeagus is presented without everting vesica. Everted vesica is quite small rounded with some cornuti with long endophallic tube without cornuti. There is also dorsally srongly sclerotized caulis in anellus around aedeagus. Dependig on how one detaches the phallus from genitalia apparatus, it can stay in there, in which case aedeagus in normally damaged. This caulis can also come out together with aedeagus, in which case everting vesica is even more difficult. Because there is also some varitation in uncii of Saliocleta species and since the form of uncus tips in many species like S. notia is spout like, they should be examined also sideways.

PLATE 4 . Biotope of holotype of Saliocleta puyak ; sp. n. Doi Puyak in Chae Hom district Lampang province.

Distribution and Bionomics. The species was first described in Vietnam. The newly discovered populations in Northern Thailand with several specimens indicates that the species is quite common at lower altitudes (300-400 m), one specimen was found at 600 m. The adults are flying from early May to June and again August to late September.

Since caterpillars are bamboo feeders, the species is found in biotopes where bamboos are abundant. Adults fly from May to October.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Saliocleta notia a. male Thailand, Lampang, Phichai, 06.viii.2012; b. S. notia male (holotype) Vietnam, Bao Loc, Rung Cal Tien, 20–27.iv.1993; c. female Thailand, Chae Hom, 16.viii.2012.

FIGURE 7. Saliocleta widagdoi male (holotype) Indonesia, N-Sumatra, Dolou Merangir, 08.iii.1981 gen.prep. A. Schintlemeister GU-64-92 a. male genitalia, b. aedeagus, c.8th segment.