Drephalys (Drephalys) electrinus Siewert, Madruga, Mielke & Dolibaina, 2018

Siewert, Ricardo Russo, Madruga, Janaína, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2018, Hidden in plain sight: a morphological study revealing three new species of the skipper genus Drephalys Watson, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Brazil, Zootaxa 4472 (3), pp. 573-580 : 576

Drephalys (Drephalys) electrinus Siewert, Madruga, Mielke & Dolibaina , sp. n.

( Figs 3–4 , 8 , 13 )

Diagnosis. Drephalys electrinus sp. n. is similar to D. phoenicoides (Mabille & Boullet, 1919) and Drephalys dracarys sp. n. in wing markings and in the width of the white transversal band on ventral hind wings but it can be distinguished by the following male genitalia characters: costa of valva without a projection ( Fig. 8 ) and aedeagus with the third distal margin serrated and without a spine-like process ( Fig. 8 ).

Description, male. Head: antenna with yellow scales at the base of each segment ventrally; basal half of the ventral club yellow, nudum of 36 segments (n=2). Thorax: as in D. dracarys sp. n. Forewing, upper side: length 21 mm; costal fold short; dark yellow patch covers the basal third of the costal margin; one small circular yellow spot in CuA2-2A, aligned to the proximal hyaline spot of discal cell; three apical hyaline spots in R3-R4, R4-R5, and R5-M1 more aligned with each other than in D. dracarys sp. n. and D. citrinus Madruga, Siewert, Mielke & Casagrande sp. n.. Forewing, underside: similar to the upper side, except for lighter colors. Hind wing, upper side: ground color dark brown; all yellow spots with a greenish aspect; large yellow spot on the end of discal cell extending proximally over M; yellow spot in the inferior half of CuA2-2A extending proximally over 2A; fringes yellow. Hind wing, underside: tornus with a dark brown patch; anal margin cream with a short white patch in 3A-anal margin. Genitalia ( Fig. 8 ): tegumen rectangular, extended laterally near the insertion with uncus. Uncus bifid, “U”-shaped; arms as long as the half length of uncus. Valva rectangular, little longer than tegumen+uncus; costa without projection; ampulla with a smooth hook-like process, strongly curved inward and anteriorly; harpe not projected distally. Aedeagus as in D. dracarys sp. n. but with the third distal margin narrow, curved and serrated; vesica with three needle-like cornuti. Female: unknown.

Type material. Holotype male with the following labels: / HOLOTYPUS / Reserva Duque, Manaus, AM[azonas] [ Brazil] 3-IX-1987 Mielke & Casagrande / Gen. Prep. Mielke 1992 / OM 28.976 / Holotypus Drephalys (Drephalys) electrinus Siewert, Madruga, Dolibaina & Mielke /. Deposited at DZUP.

Paratype. BRAZIL: Acre— Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor (7° 26’ 52’’ S, 73° 39’ 55’’ W), 23-30.VIII.2014, 1 male, Mielke, Casagrande, Carneiro, Dias, Dolibaina, Siewert & Salik leg., DZ 31.103. Deposited at DZUP.

Etymology. The specific epithet is from the Latin electrinus , amber-yellow, in reference to the yellow patches on the wings.

Distribution. Drephalys electrinus sp. n. is known from southwestern Amazonia, with records in the Brazilian states of Acre and Amazonas. The paratype was collected in the northern region of the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Mâncio Lima, Acre, close to the border between Brazil and Peru.

Comments. This new species is an additional yellow-checkered species of the subgenus Drephalys . Among these, D. electrinus sp. n. is the only one that has a valva without the lateral projection of the costa. The long and slender aedeagus of D. electrinus sp. n. is similar to that of D. dracarys sp. n., differing from the latter by the twisted and serrated tip. These two species are sympatric in the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, and although captured in different events, they were attracted by the Ahrenholz technique ( Lamas et al. 1993) without the presence of ants (Austin et al. 1993).

Figures

FIGURE 13. Distribution map of Drephalys species.

FIGURES 1–6. Species of Drephalys in dorsal and ventral views. 1–2, D. dracarys sp. n. 3–4, D. electrinus sp. n. 5–6, D. citrinus sp. n.

FIGURES 7–9. Male genitalia of Drephalys species. Tegumen, uncus, gnathos and saccus in lateral view; right valva in left, right and dorsal views; tegumen and uncus in dorsal view; aedeagus in left lateral and dorsal views; detail of the everted cornuti. 7. D. dracarys sp. n., 8. D. electrinus sp. n., 9. D. citrinus sp. n.