Glabroculus elvira suadela Churkin & Kolesnichenko, 2019

Churkin, Sergei V. & Kolesnichenko, Kirill A., 2019, A new subspecies of Glabroculus elvira (Eversmann, 1854) (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) from the Dzhungarian Gobi desert, Mongolia, Zootaxa 4555 (4), pp. 581-587 : 582-586

Glabroculus elvira suadela Churkin & Kolesnichenko , ssp. n.

Plate 1 and 2 , figs. 1 (holotype), 2, 3, 7–9 (paratypes).

Holotype: ♂, SW Mongolia, Khovd aimak, Dzhungarian Gobi des., Uvhod-Ula Mt. , 1200 m.a.s.l., 26.0 6.2018, 45°47' N, 91°08' E, S. Churkin leg. ( SDM).

Paratypes: 70 ♂, 10 ♀, same data, S . Churkin , K . Kolesnichenko , V. Pletnev, Odbayar Tz. leg. ; 6 ♂, 2 ♀, same locality, 8.0 7.2018, S . Churkin , K . Kolesnichenko , V. Pletnev, Odbayar Tz. leg. ; 4 ♂, 2 ♀, SW Mongolia, Khovd aimak, Dzhungarian Gobi des., Ushig spring, 1200 m.a.s.l., 27.0 6.2018, 45°35' N, 90°56' E, S . Churkin , K . Kolesnichenko , V. Pletnev, Odbayar Tz. leg. ; 12 ♂, 13 ♀, same loc., 7.0 7.2018, S . Churkin , K . Kolesnichenko , V. Pletnev, Odbayar Tz. leg. ; 14 ♂, 12 ♀, SW Mongolia, Khovd aimak, Dzhungarian Gobi des., Del Khaar Uul , 1350 m.a.s.l., water spring, 7.0 7.2018, 45°39' N, 90°54' E, S . Churkin , K . Kolesnichenko , V. Pletnev, Odbayar Tz. leg.

Paratypes are deposited in private collections of S . Churkin ( Reutov ), V . Pletnev ( Reutov ), K . Kolesnichenko (Moscow), Odbayar Tz. (Ulan-Bator), P . Beda ( Ljubertzy ), G . Grieshuber (Ortenburg); in the Institute of General and Experimental Biology MAS; and in ZISP .

Description. Male. Holotype FW length 15 mm, paratypes 13.5–17 mm (average 15–16 mm, n = 35).

Antenna black, segment bases white-banded, club dark with brownish lateral surface. Frons and top of head with silvery-bluish hairs. Palpi: segment 2 white with the streaks of black hair; segment 3 black. Thorax with silvery-bluish hairs. Legs white with black scales. Abdomen whitish, with darker dorsum.

Upperside silken light blue with silvery shining. Veins blackish.

Forewing marginal pattern of 3 bands: blackish marginal band; silvery submarginal band, and a vague dark band consisting of several dark and not dense spots in cubital area. Silvery-whitish band consists of bright spots especially expressed at the apical side. Discal spot usually well-defined, rarely reduced.

Hindwing: row of marginal blackish spots are contrasting because they are surrounded by whitish scales. Discal line thin.

Underside whitish, with four rows of contrasting black spots. Hindwing: basal metallic suffusion is not dense but extends to discal spot or even further in cubital area; postdiscal row of blackish spots is placed just between basal and submarginal rows; anal and sometimes cubital submarginal spots often with visible metallic scales.

Female. FW length 13.5–16.5 mm (average 15–16 mm, n = 20).

Head and legs colour similar to that of the male, thorax and abdomen dorsally brownish.

Forewing upperside ground colour brown, with contrasting whitish submarginal spots; discal spot welldefined. A pale (sometimes white) spot often presents within the discal cell; more distinct whitish spots often present in the discal area between veins.

Hindwing upperside with submarginal row of contrasting black spots each surrounded by a whitish squareshaped blotch.

The underside is similar to that of the male, including the basal metallic suffusion.

Male genitalia (Pl. 3: 1, 2, 3). Similar to that of G. e. elvira but tend to be more robust (Pl. 3: 1, 4), with distal processes of the valva slightly longer and wider (Pl. 3: 3, 6).

Diagnosis. Males of G. e. suadela ssp. n. differ from other subspecies in having shiny and bright forewing upperside with expressed whitish submarginal spots. Also, the hindwing upperside has contrasting row of black marginal spots, the hindwing underside has more extended metallic suffusion at base. In G. e. elvira , the pale silvery upperside has no contrasting whitish submarginal spots at the forewing, the hindwing marginal row of black spots are not contrasting because the surrounded area is not whitish. In G. e. elvira females, the metallic suffusion is noticeably fainter than in males, whereas equally developed and conspicuous in both sexes in G. e. suadela ssp. n.

Ssp. hanusi has bluish upperside with a broad dark marginal band, while the underside is rather similar to that of ssp. suadela ssp. n.

In both G. e. elvira and G. e. hanusi, the females have uniformly brownish upperside, whereas it is decorated in G. e. suadela.

Bionomics (Pl. 4). Grassy areas around springs in the desert, saline plots with some shrubs. The food plant is Limonium sp. (the females laid the eggs). In Kazakhstan this species feeds on L. gmelini (Willd.) Kuntze ( Toropov & Zhdanko, 2015).

The species was not found in the foothills or in wide desert river valleys, unlike in Turan where it occurs at altitudes of up to 2000 m.

Distribution (Pl. 5). Known from several localities within a small area. The species was not found elsewhere in Dzhungarian Gobi where similar habitats were surveyed. The type locality of the new taxon is 800-850 km away from the known range of the nominate subspecies in East Kazakhstan (Ili Valley and Alakol Lake).

Etymology. Suadela (Latin), goddess of persuasion in seduction and love, associated with Venus.

Figures

PLATE 1. Glabroculus elvira spp., upperside. 1—G. e. suadela ssp. n., holotype, ♂, SW Mongolia, Khovd aimak, Dzhungarian Gobi des., Uvhod-Ula Mt., 1200 m.a.s.l., 26.06.2018, 45°47' N, 91°08' E, S. Churkin leg.; 2, 3—G. e. suadela ssp. n., paratype, ♂, same data as 1; 4, 5—G. e. elvira, ♂, Kazakhstan, Kzyl-Orda reg., Syr-Darya valley, Dzhosaly [Dzhusaly] v., 12.06.2000, Perepechaenko V. leg. 6—G. e. elvira, ♂, Kazakhstan, Ily r. valley, 20 km N Chundzha v., 29.06.1999, S. Churkin leg.; 7, 8, 9—G. e. suadela ssp. n., paratype, ♀, same data as 1; 10, 11—G. e. elvira, ♀, same data as 4; 12—G. e. elvira, ♀, same data as 6.

PLATE 2. Glabroculus elvira ssp., underside. 1—G. e. suadela ssp. n., holotype, ♂, SW Mongolia, Khovd aimak, Dzhungarian Gobi des., Uvhod-Ula Mt., 1200 m.a.s.l., 26.06.2018, 45°47' N, 91°08' E, S. Churkin leg.; 2, 3—G. e. suadela ssp. n., paratype, ♂, same data as 1; 4, 5—G. e. elvira, ♂, Kazakhstan, Kzyl-Orda reg., Syr-Darya valley, Dzhosaly [Dzhusaly] v., 12.06.2000, Perepechaenko V. leg.; 6—G. e. elvira, ♂, Kazakhstan, Ily r. valley, 20 km N Chundzha v., 29.06.1999, S. Churkin leg.; 7, 8, 9—G. e. suadela ssp. n., paratype, ♀, same data as 1; 10, 11—G. e. elvira, ♀, same data as 4; 12—G. e. elvira, ♀, same data as 6.