Pseudomaniola phaselis phaselis (Hewitson)

Viloria, Angel L., Pyrcz, Tomasz W. & Orellana, Andrés, 2010, A survey of the Neotropical montane butterflies of the subtribe Pronophilina (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) in the Venezuelan Cordillera de la Costa, Zootaxa 2622, pp. 1-41 : 25

Pseudomaniola phaselis phaselis (Hewitson)

( Figs. 25, 26 )

Pronophila phaselis Hewitson, 1862: 14 , pl. 6, fig. 7. Syntype (male) in BMNH [examined]. Catargynnis phaselis (Hewitson) ; Thieme, 1907: 152

Pseudomaniola phaselis (Hewitson) ; Adams, 1986: 311.

Geographic range: Species: CC-Bolivia (Yungas de Cochabamba); Subspecies: CC, SP[?], EC.

Altitudinal range: 1200–1600 m (Pyrcz, 2004); 900–2000 m, ssp. rogersi ( DeVries, 1987); CC: 1000– 1900 m.

Remarks: This is the only representative of the genus Pseudomaniola in the CC. It is an extremely widespread, polytypic species with another subspecies, rogersi (Godman & Salvin) extending into Mesoamerica. The subspecies of P. phaselis are recognized in the first place by the FWD markings. The males of rogersi and pholoe (Staudinger) possess reddish markings in the subapical area, and their females are all brown. On the contrary, the males of macasica (Strand) found in Ecuador and northern Peru have all brown FWD, but their females have elongated orange FWD patches. In the nominate subspecies occurring in the CC, both sexes of the individuals coming from the SL are uniform dark brown on the upperside. However, most examined males collected on the Cerro Platillón in the SI do have small submarginal FWD reddish patches in M3-Cu1 and Cu1-Cu2. It is possible that this isolated population has diverged enough from the SL populations to deserve a separate subspecific status. The decision on that requires more comparative material from the CC, particularly freshly emerged individuals, because in worn butterflies, the upperside color pattern becomes dull and the presence or absence of faint reddish patches cannot be fully appreciated. It is worth pointing out that in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, P. phaselis is a rare species, very seldom observed in the field. In the CC it is quite common and in some localities, such as the Cerro Platillón or the Cerro San Isidro, it can be extremely abundant. P. phaselis has apparently a discontinuous distribution. Similarly to T. phoronea , it appears to be absent in many well-sampled Andean localities.

Material examined: DISTRITO FEDERAL: 1 male: Avila, va Picacho de Galipán, 1800 m, 20.III.1983, M. Costa leg., MCC; 2 females: Avila, Hotel Humboldt, 2000 m, 19.III.1983, M. Costa leg., MCC; 1 male: Avila, 1000 m, 15.IX.2001, M. Costa leg.; MCC; ARAGUA: 1 male: Cerro El Paují al sur de La Victoria, 1400 m, 19. II. 1978, J. Clavijo and C. Michelangelli leg., MIZA; 2 males: Tiara, 1200 m, 24.V.1994, J. Clavijo, A. Chacón and Q. Arias leg., MIZA; 3 males: same locality, 1200 m, 23. VI.1994, J. DeMarmels and A. Chacón leg., MIZA; 1 male: Rancho Grande, 1100 m, 12.VII.1952, F. Fernández Y. leg., MIZA; 1 male: Caracas - Junquito, 1500 m, 30.IX.1962, ex-coll. Feige, MIZA; 1 male: Tasajera al sur de La Victoria, 6.II.1983, J. Clavijo leg., MIZA; 1 female: Villa de Cura, Est. Exp. Cataurito, 27.X.1981, J. DeMarmels leg., MIZA; 1 female: Rancho Grande, 1100 m, 30.IX.1951, F. Fernández Y. leg., MIZA; 1 female: Alto de Tiara, 1200 m, 30.VII.1952, F. Fernández Y. leg., MIZA; 1 female: Palmarito - El Castaño Maracay, 800 m, 05.V. L. D. Otero leg., MIZA; 1 female: Tiara, 1200 m, 23. VI.1994, J. DeMarmels and A. Chacón leg., MIZA; 1 female: Rancho Grande, 1100 m, 17.VIII.1952, F. Fernández Y. leg., MIZA; 1 female: Rancho Grande, Portachuelo, 1100 m, 15–30.XI.1987, J. De Marmels leg., MIZA; 1 male: Rancho Grande, Portachuelo, 1100 m, XI.1986, F. Romero leg., FRR; 2 males: same data but VIII.1987, FRR; 1 male: same data but VIII.1989, FRR; 1 male: same data but VIII.1983, FRR; 1 male: same data but V.1970, FRR; 1 male: same data but VI.1981, FRR; 1 female: carretera Maracay-Choroní, 1300 m, IX.1975, F. Romero leg., FRR; 1 female: same data but no altitude, V.1969, FRR; 1 female: same data but 1400 m, IX.1987, FRR; 1 male: Rosario de Paya, 1200 m, X.1993, F. Romero leg., FRR; 1 male: Colonia Tovar, vía Naranjal, 2100 m, 31.I.2004, M. Costa leg., MCC; 1 female: carretera Maracay-Choroní, 1450 m, TWP; GUARICO: 1 female: Guarico, Pao de Zarate, 1000 m, IX.1987, F. Romero leg., FRR; MIRANDA: 1 male: San Jos de los Altos, 1500 m, 18.VII.1982, M. Costa leg., MCC; 1 male: Altos de Pipe-IVIC, 1700 m, 07.III.2010, T. Pyrcz leg., MZUJ; CARABOBO: 1 male: Carabobo, Cerro San Isidro, 1600 m, 24.VIII.2003, M. Costa leg., MCC; 1 female: Cerro El Café- Valencia, 1000 m, 20.II.1983, L. D. Otero leg., MIZA; VARGAS: 1 female: El Tigre, route de Petaquire vers Puerto Cruz Km 14, 1400 m, 23.IV.2006, T. Pyrcz leg., TWP; GUARICO: 20 males and 1 female: Cerro Platillón, 24. II. 2007, 1450 m, T. Pyrcz leg., TWP.

Figures

FIGURES 21 – 28. Adult satyrine butterflies from the Cordillera de La Costa, Venezuela (left: dorsal, right: ventral); 21. Praepronophila perperna perperna (Hewitson) (male, vía Naranjal); 22. P. perperna perperna (Hewitson) (female, Cerro San Isidro); 23. Lasiophila zapatoza zapatoza Westwood (male, vía Naranjal); 24. L. zapatoza zapatoza Westwood (female, vía Naranjal); 25. Pseudomaniola phaselis phaselis (Hewitson) (male, Cerro San Isidro); 26. P. phaselis phaselis (Hewitson) (female, Sector El Tigre); 27. Oxeoschistus puerta puerta (Westwood) (male, Maracay-Choroní); 28. O. puerta puerta (Westwood) (female, Cuesta de Puerto Maya).