Mathania hughesi Lamas, Farfán & Cerdeña, 2020

Farfán, Jackie, Lamas, Gerardo & Cerdeña, José, 2020, A new species of Mathania Oberthür, 1890 from Peru (Lepidoptera, Pieridae), Zootaxa 4758 (3), pp. 589-595 : 590-593

Mathania hughesi Lamas, Farfán & Cerdeña sp. n.

Mathania agasicles (Hewitson) : Hughes, 1956: 250.

Hesperocharis (Mathania) agasicles ssp.: Lamas, 1977: 65.

Mathania [n. sp.]: Lamas, 2004: 108.

Mathania sp. n.: Farfán, 2018: 364.

Type locality. Peru, Arequipa, Quequeña , 16º33’S, 71º28’W, 2480 m .

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: PERU, AR[equipa], Quequeña , 2480m, 1633/7128 [16º33´S / 71º28´W], 28.iv.2012, G. Lamas [leg.]; deposited in MUSM.

PARATYPES (56♂, 11♀) (all from Peru) : 1♂, 1♀, same data as holotype ( MUSM) ; 4♂, 3♀, same data, J. Cerdeña leg. ( MUSM) ; 2♂, AY[acucho], Río Chilques , 22 km SE Puquio, 14º43’S, 74º44’W, 3450 m, 16.ii.1995, G. Lamas leg. ( MUSM) ; 1♂, same locality, 15.ii.1995 ( MUSM) ; 1♂, AR[equipa], Sabandia , 2400 m, 06.v.1984, L. Ve- lásquez leg. ( MUSM) ; 1 ♂, AR[equipa], Mollebaya , 2500 m, 06.v.1984, L. Velásquez leg. ( MUSM) ; 8♂, 1♀, Areq- uipa, Characato , 2350-2400 m, 10.xi.2017, T. Pyrcz leg. ( CEP-MZUJ) ; 4♂, same data, 30.iv.2017 ( CEP-MZUJ) ; 8♂, same data, 07.v.2017 ( CEP-MZUJ) ; 5♂, same data, 29.x.2017 ( CEP-MZUJ) ; 4♂, Arequipa, 1 Km NW Yura, 28.iv.2017, T. Pyrcz leg. ( CEP-MZUJ) ; 3♂, 3♀, AR[equipa], Sogay , 2500 m, 20.v.2008, J. Farfán leg ( MUSA) ; 1♂, 1♀, same data, 05.iii.2008 ( MUSA) ; 3♂, AR[equipa], Cañón del Colca , 2650 m, 22.x.2008, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) ; 2♂, AR[equipa], Yura , 2380 m, 18.vi.2008, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) ; 3♂, AR[equipa], Yarabamba , 2400 m, 27.iv.2012, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) ; 1♂, AR[equipa], Charcani , 3100m, 26-27.vi.2010, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) ; 1♂, AR[equipa], Chachas , 3000 m, 27.vi.2013, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) ; 1♀, AR[Arequipa], Sogay , 2500 m, 18.iii.2009, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) ; 1♂, 1♀, TA[cna], Palca , 2900 m, 19.vii.2011, J. Farfán leg ( MUSA) ; 1♂, TA[cna], Tarata , 3100 m, 11.xi.2011, J. Farfán leg. ( MUSA) .

Additional specimen, excluded from the type series: 1♂, PERU, AP[urímac], Tapairihua, Río Antabamba, 14º12’S, 73º06’W, 2600 m, 17.vi.2013, E. Huamaní leg. ( MUSM). Although undoubtedly belonging to this species, the specimen appears slightly divergent and may represent a separate subspecies.

Diagnosis. Mathania hughesi sp. n. is easily distinguished from all the known congeneric species by having a black band at the distal end of the discal cell from costal margin to the base of cell M 3 -CuA 1 on the forewing upperside (Fig. 1), absent in the other species. The male genitalia of M. hughesi sp. n. (Fig. 2a, b) is similar in shape to other species of Mathania . However, there are differences in the shape of the valvae that can allow its separation, a somewhat slender uncus, basally broader and distally narrower valva, rounded valval process and basally narrower vesica. Male genitalia in most species of Mathania have a robust uncus and tegumen, and elongate valvae with prominent structures on the inner side (Fig. 3).

FIG. 1. Adults. A. Mathania hughesi sp. n. male, HOLOTYPE, dorsal view; B. Mathania hughesi sp. n. male, HOLOTYPE, ventral view; C. Mathania hughesi sp. n. female, PARATYPE, dorsal view; D. Mathania hughesi sp. n. female, PARATYPE, ventral view. Scale bar: 2 cm.

Description. Male (Figs. 1A, B): forewing length 22–26 mm (n=20). Head primarily black with brown eyes, hairy palpus with whitish brown hair-like scales, antenna dorsally brown and ventrally whitish brown. Body and abdomen black with white hair-like scales, abdomen ventrally light brown. Upperside of wings ground color white. DFW with black apex extending on outer margin to Cu 1 and a black band on distal end of discal cell from costal margin to base of cell M 3 -CuA 1. DHW white. VFW white with apex greenish yellow extending through outer margin to Cu 1, and a dilute black band on distal end of discal cell, similar to that on dorsum. VHW greenish yellow, with yellow costal margin from base to apex, one longitudinal yellow line from wing base through discal cell to outer margin in cell M 2 -M 3, and other longitudinal yellow lines in cells M 3 -CuA 1, CuA 1 -CuA 2 and CuA 2 -A1. Male Genitalia (Fig. 2a,b,c): Saccus short and straight, tegumen well developed, uncus short with dorsolateral protuberances at base, valvae with weak dorsal concavity and prominent structures on the inner side (valval process), aedeagus curved downward as shown in Fig. 2c. Female (Fig. 1C, D): forewing length 24-25 mm (n=7), color and pattern very similar to that of male, but with slightly darker wings and with black outer wing margin broader at distal end of cell M 3 -CuA 1 on DFW. Female genitalia (Fig.2d,e,f): Papillae anales hairy rounded in lateral view, with slightly elongated lobes in apical segment in dorsal view (Fig. 2e); posterior apophyses longer, ~ 2× length of anterior apophyses; ductus bursae cylindrical, membranous; corpus bursae membranous, subspherical with sclerotized elliptical dentate signum as shown in Fig. 2f, and with a larger accessory pouch; ductus seminalis inserted at the base of the ductus bursae.

FIG. 2. Mathania hughesi sp. n. genital morphology: (a) male genitalia in lateral view, aedeagus removed; (b) dorsal view; (c) aedeagus in lateral view; (d) female genitalia in lateral view; (e) ventral view; (f) detail of female signum. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Etymology. This new species is dedicated to Robert (“Robin”) A. Hughes (1934-1991), in recognition of his valuable observations on the butterflies of the Department of Arequipa and southern Peru, being the first to report this species from the surroundings of Arequipa in the 1950s. Sadly, Hughes` personal collection of Lepidoptera was lost in the late 1960s in Arequipa (Hughes, in litt. to GL)

FIG. 3. Male genitalia (in lateral view). A. M. leucothea , locality Valparaiso, Chile, PBF collection. B. M. carrizoi , locality Purmamarca, Argentina, PBF collection. C. M. agasicles , locality Gualaceo, Ecuador, PBF collection. D. M. aureomaculata , locality Molinopampa, Peru, PBF collection. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Distribution. Mathania hughesi sp. n. is known from the western slope of the Andes in Peru, from the Department of Ayacucho in the north, south to the Department of Tacna, between 2300 and 3500 m elevation (Fig. 4).

Host plant. Ligaria cuneifolia (R.et P.) Tiegh. ( Loranthaceae ).

Bionomics. Adults are frequently found in xerophytic-shrub habitats above 2000 m, close to rivers or brooks where the host plant is located, the adults fly around the canopy of trees supporting the hemiparasitic host plant Ligaria cuneifolia , which in Arequipa grows on Schinus molle L. ( Anacardiaceae ), rarely adults fly at ground level. Oviposition behavior of M. hughesi is very similar to that described by Courtney (1986) for M. leucothea in Chile: « … Egg-laying is brief when it occurs: the wings fully closed (always open during “testing” contacts), the abdomen bent under, and one to several eggs rapidly deposited. …». Larvae of M. hughesi were found feeding close to the shoot tips on the underside of leaves of L. cuneifolia ,; the larvae are solitary, cryptic and difficult to find on the host plant. The immature stages (Bravo et al. unpublished data) are similar to those of M. leucothea ( Braby & Nishida 2007) . Mathania hughesi around Arequipa appears to be univoltine, with abundant adults flying between June and August, and very few individuals between December and April. The latter period swith when immatures were found (March), which suggests that M. hughesi take advantage of rainy season of the southwestern slopes of the Andes (November to March) for development its, presumably due to food availability, because several dried plants of L. cuneifolia were observed during dry season.