Lacanobia praedita canescens, Zlatkov & Beshkov & Huemer, 2021

Zlatkov, Boyan, Beshkov, Stoyan & Huemer, Peter, 2021, New Noctuoidea taxa from the Silver Coast of Bulgaria (Insecta: Lepidoptera), Ecologica Montenegrina 46, pp. 98-119 : 107-111

Lacanobia praedita canescens ssp. n.

Holotype. ♂, pinned, genitalia on slide, with 4 printed labels: “ BULGARIA, N Black Sea Coast // Kaliakra cape // 70 m N43.3792° E28.4539° // 4.V.2012, at light // leg. B. Zlatkov & O. Sivilov ” “ BCBZ 0489 ” “ NMNHS // Gen. prep. // ♂ // No. 1/ 11.12.2020 ” “ HOLOTYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard]; genitalia slide with 2 labels: “ HOLOTYPUS // Lacanobia praedita // canescens Zlatkov, // Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021 // BULGARIA, N Black Sea Coast // Kaliakra cape // 70 m N43.3792° E28.4539° // 4.V.2012, at light // leg. B. Zlatkov & O. Sivilov ” [red paper] “ NMNHS // Gen. prep. // ♂ // No. 1/ 11.12.2020 // B. Zlatkov 2020 Euparal” ( NMNHS)

Paratypes. 1 ♂, pinned, with two printed labels: “ Bulgaria, N Black Sea Coast // Bolata near Cape Kaliakra // 42m, N43.3876, E028.4725 // 11. VI.2019 // leg. S. Beshkov & A. Nahirnić ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( TLMF) ; 1 ♂ pinned, with two printed labels: “NE Bulgaria, North Black Sea// Coast, “ Strelbishteto ” between // Balchik and Kavarna Towns, // 2 km to Tuzlata from Balchik // 02.VI.1999, S. Beshkov // S. Abadjiev & M. Langourov // leg. at 160W MVL & light trap ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( HNHM) ; 1 ♂ pinned, with two printed labels: “ Bulgaria, Northern Black // Sea Coast , between Balchik // and Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik, // 03.VII.2003, S. Beshkov // & J. Nowacki leg.” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( PCPG) ; 1 ♂ pinned, with 3 printed labels: “ Bulgaria, Northern Black // Sea Coast , between Balchik // and Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik , // N43.24.263; E028.12.521 // MH KN43 CJ; 28-30.vi.2003. // S. Beshkov & H. Beck leg.” “ Gen. prep. 8./ 11.II.2015 // S. Beshkov. // ♂ genitalia with //everted vesica Euparal ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov , Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard], genitalia slide with 2 labels: “ Gen. prep. 8./ 11.II.2015, // S. Beshkov. Bulgaria, Northern // Black Sea Coast , between Balchik // and Kavarna towns, 2 km to Touzlata from Balchik, 60m, N43.24.263; // E028.12.521; 28-30.VI.2003, // S. Beshkov & H. Beck leg.” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita // canescens // Zlatkov, // Beshkov // & Huemer, 2021” ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♂ pinned, with two printed labels: “ Bulgaria, N Black Sea Coast, // between Balchik and Kavarna // towns, 2 km to Touzlata from // Balchik, 77m, // N43.4057°, E028.2103° // 16.VII.1988, S. Beshkov leg.” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♂, pinned, with 3 printed labels: “ Bulgaria, Northern Black // Sea Coast , between Balchik // and Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik , // 31.V.2003, S. Beshkov & // Ph. Fastre leg.” “ NMNHS // Gen. prep. // ♂ // No. 1/ 16.12.2020 ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard]; genitalia slide with 2 labels: “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita // canescens Zlatkov, // Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021 // Bulgaria, Northern Black // Sea Coast, between Balchik // and Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik, // 31.V.2003, S. Beshkov & // Ph. Fastre leg.” [red paper] “ NMNHS // Gen. prep. // ♂ // No. 1/ 16.12.2020 // B. Zlatkov 2020 Euparal” ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♂, pinned, with 2 printed labels: “ Bulgaria, Northern Black // Sea Coast , between Balchik // and Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik, // 07.VI.2003, S. Beshkov & // Ph. Fastre leg.” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♀ pinned, with 3 printed labels: “Bulgaria, N Black Sea Coast // Region , between Balchik and // Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik , 130m, // N43°24’21”; E028°12’28” // 21.VI.2007, S. Beshkov // & B. Zlatkov leg. at light trap ” “ NMNHS // Gen. prep. // ♀ // No. 1/ 7.1.2021 ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard], genitalia slide with 2 labels: “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita // canescens Zlatkov, // Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021 // BULGARIA, N Black Sea Coast // Region, between Balchik and // Kavarna towns, 2 km to // Touzlata from Balchik, 130m, // N43.4058° E028.2078° // 21.VI.2007 // S. Beshkov // & B. Zlatkov leg. at light trap ” [red paper] “ NMNHS // Gen. prep. // ♀ // No. 1/ 7.1.2021 // B. Zlatkov 2020 Euparal” ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♂, pinned, with two printed labels: “NE Bulgaria, the Black Sea // Coast between Balchik and // Kavarna near Touzlata // 100 m N43°24’21” E28°12’28” // 21.06.2007 at lamp // leg. B. Zlatkov & S. Beshkov ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♂, pinned, with two printed labels: “ Bulgaria, Black Sea Coast // Balgarevo, Dalboka area // 80 m N43.3994° E28.3963° // 15.viii.2011, light // leg. B. Zlatkov & O. Sivilov ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( IBER) ; 1 ♂, pinned, with two printed labels: “ BULGARIA, Black Sea Coast // N Balchik, Topola vill., coast // 65 m N43.4095° E28.2635° // 2.vi.2017 // leg. B. Zlatkov, D. Kaynarov & // J. Camacho ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, // 2021” [red cardboard] ( IBER) ; 1 ♀, ibid. ( HNHM) ; 1 ♂, the same two labels and additional: “ BCBZ 0488 ” ( NMNHS) ; 1 ♀, pinned, with two printed labels: “NE Bulgaria, Black Sea Coast // Kaliakra Cape, UTM: PJ10 // 60 m N43°22’45” E28°27’14” // 24.VIII.2012, at light // leg. B. Zlatkov & O. Sivilov ” “ PARATYPUS // Lacanobia praedita canescens // Zlatkov, Beshkov & Huemer, 2021” [red cardboard] ( IBER) .

Lacanobia praedita (Hübner, 1813) is known in Bulgaria only from Black Sea Coast, Balchik ( Caradja, 1932; 1934; Popescu-Gorj, 1964; Slivov, 1976 [1977]; Beshkov, 1993; Beshkow, 1998; Beshkov, Nowacki & Palka, 1999; Beshkov, 2000; Abadjiev & Beshkov, 2007). According to Beshkov (2000) specimens from Balchik form an isolated colony at the extreme edge of the range of the species, and look somewhat different in appearance from the other ones. For comparison one specimen from the Silver Coast is illustrated there together with a specimen from Turkey, Pontic Mountain. Specimen from Balchik is illustrated also in Hacker et al. (2002). Lacanobia praedita is a Ponto-Caspian-Turkestanian species, in Europe known also from the grassy steppe zones in southeastern Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania ( Hacker et al., 2002). Specimens from Romania illustrated in monochrome in Popescu-Gorj (1959) from Vasile Roaita (the old name of the town Eforie Sud) and in Rakosy (1996) from Galati, E Romania looks more closely to the nominotypical L. praedita than to the new subspecies.

Derivatio nominis. Derived from the Latin verb canesco: to become covered in white; canescens is a present participle in nominative.

Description

Adult ( Fig. 6 A–D). Sexual dimorphism not detected. Head. Vertex and frons covered with whitish scales, frons with black spots near eyes sometimes connected with transverse black line. Antennae filiform. Labial palps whitish with grey suffusion. Proboscis well developed. Thorax dorsally and ventrally covered with whitish scales. Patagia with medial transverse thin black line. Legs whitish with scattered grey scales.

Wings: Forewing length in males 13.7–14.9 mm (mean 14.2 ± 0.4, n=13), in females 13.7–15.0 mm (mean 14.3 ± 0.4, n=5); upperside mainly pale grey; costal area very pale grey, costa with 3–4 blackish spots; basal area pale grey with black basal streak; antemedial line white, bordered with black distad; medial field pale grey, darker than rest of wing; postmedial line white, bordered with black basad; large very pale grey streak projecting obliquely from orbicular stigma to postmedial line; subterminal area very pale grey with darker area along white subterminal line with sharply defined W-mark; orbicular and reniform stigmata pale grey with darker markings within; claviform stigma absent; terminal line white, cilia pale grey; underside whitish with grey postmedial line and discal spot. Hindwing white with pale grey discal spot, postmedial line, marginal area and veins; cilia white; underside pearly white with pale grey postmedial line and discal spot. Abdomen pale grey. Male genitalia ( Fig. 2 C): uncus relatively short, acute, curved ventrally, tegumen and vinculum broad, juxta heart-shaped; valvae slightly asymmetrical, right one with more protruding distal end of sacculus; valva with broad basal and narrower distal part; harpe elongate, well-developed, with triangular distal end and thin acute process pointed ventral; two costal extensions arise from common plate: proximal more elongate, flabellate, and distal short, nearly triangular; cucullus well separated, with corona. Phallus ( Fig. 7 A, B) nearly straight, with hemispherical coecum; vesica protruded from ventral side of phallic tube, with short cylindrical basal, large medial and long cylindrical helicoid apical part ending with ductus ejaculatorius; basal part with membranous diverticulum at left side; medial part with long diverticulum emerging apically and pointed dorsad, adorned with short stout cornutus; apical part with bundle of ca. 23 needle-like cornuti and weakly sclerotised area; whole vesica apart of basal part and its diverticulum covered with minute spiculi. Female genitalia ( Fig. 4 C): papillae anales weakly sclerotised, setose; apophyses short; seventh sternite with deep median incision; ostium with rounded anterior margin; ductus bursae relatively short, sclerotised; appendix bursae coiled dorsally, with rugose sclerotised plate, ductus seminalis inserted apically; corpus bursae ovoid, with four longitudinal signa consisting of slightly sclerotised granules.

Variation. None.

Diagnose

Lacanobia praedita canescens ssp. n. is readily distinguished from the nominotypical subspecies by the general colour, which is pale grey; in ssp. praedita it is pale olive-grey to brownish-grey. Neither male nor female genitalia demonstrate reliable differences.

Molecular data

Lacanobia praedita canescens ssp. n. cannot be reliably separated from the nominotypical subspecies by DNA barcode ( Fig. 8) and clusters in the same BIN: BOLD:ABX0858. The intraspecific average distance of the barcode region in L. praedita is 0.71%, the maximum distance 1.39% (p-dist) (n=5). The minimum distance to the nearest neighbour L. atlantica from North America is 4.76%, to the morphologically related European Lacanobia blenna (Hübner, 1824) is 5.2%.

Biology and habitat

Steep slopes and terraces along the sea coast from Balchik – Tuzlata to Bolata area, northern of Cape Kaliakra ( Fig. 12 B). The moths fly from the beginning of May (04.v.2012) to the third decade of August (24.viii.2012) and are attracted to artificial light. Pre-imaginal stages are not known.