Raddea Alphéraky, 1892

Kononenko, Vladimir S., Volynkin, Anton V. & Yu, Alexei, 2012, A revision of the Xestia (Radddea) alexis (Kozhanchikov, 1928) species-group with a checklist of subgenus Raddea Alphéraky, 1892 and description of brachipterous females (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae), Zootaxa 3590, pp. 51-62 : 52

Subgenus Raddea Alphéraky, 1892

(Type-species: Raddea digna Alphéraky, 1892 , by monotypy)

Estimata Kozhanchikov, 1928 (Type-species: Agrotis herrichschaefferi Alphéraky, 1895 , by original designation) Estimaja Kozhanchikov, 1937. An unjustified emendation of Estimata Kozhanchikov, 1928

Erebophasma Boursin, 1963 (Type-species: Erebophasma haematina Boursin, 1963 , ibidem 1170: 75, by original designation.

References: Kozhanchikov, 1928: 94 ( Estimata ); —1937: 220, 614 (Estimaja, unjustified emendation); Boursin, 1963:66 ( Raddea ); —:71 ( Estimata Kozhanchikov, 1928 = Estimaja Kozhanchikov, 1935; —:73 ( Erebophasma ); Zolotarenko 1970: 226; Nye 1975: ( Estimata ); Poole 1979: 381 ( Estimata ); Lafontaine, 1998:102 ( Xestia ); —:103 (Subgenus Raddea ).

Diagnosis. In habitus, wing colouration and pattern Raddea species resemble some northern species of the subgenus Pachnobia (i.e., X. (P.) aequaeva (Benjamin, 1934) , X.(P.) alaskae (Grote, 1876) , X.(P.) magadanensis Kononenko & Lafontaine, 1983 ) ( Figs. 25-32 ). The subgenus Raddea is characterised by small size, hairy vesture of head and body, bipectinate male antennae, biserrate or filiform female antennae and basal segment of the mid tibia with four rows of setae laterally. Eyes rounded or slightly narrow; labial palps short, pressed or slightly extended; proboscis developed. In wing pattern, the lower part of the reniform is often produced towards the wing base. In the male genitalia, uncus short and broad, diamond-shaped, or widely lanceolate, tegumen short, with broad lobes, juxta often with hat-like central extension, or shield-like; vinculum strong, paratergal sclerites recurved, plate-like; valva relatively short, broad at base, tapering apically, in most cases bearing a short pollex at the apex, in some species pollex not expressed; costa strong, ending in a finger-like extension, which together with pollex forms a bifurcated tip of the valva; clasper rather long and strong, harpe short, flattened, located in distal third of the valva. Aedeagus short and strong, slightly curved, vesica short, projecting dorsally, bearing granulate cornuti or dentate sclerotised plate. Female brachypterous, with strongly reduced wings. In the female genitalia (described here for the first time in the subgenus based on the species X. alexis and X. herrichschaefferi ), papillae anales elongate, covered with long hairs; apophyses posterior rather long, 3-5 times longer than anterior ones; 8th segment ring-like, with incision in central part; ostium split-like; ductus bursae relatively short, wide, sclerotised; corpus bursae membranous, rounded or elongate.

Note. In the present treatment of the subgenus, we follow Lafontaine (1989), who joined the genera Raddea , Estimata and Erebophasma in the subgenus Raddea of Xestia . The taxa of the subgenus Raddea were described by several authors in the genera Raddea , Estimata and Erebophasma ( Kozhanchikov 1928, 1937; Boursin 1940; 1963, 1964; Bryk 1942; Dierl 1983; Chen 1984, 1985, 1991, 1993; Hacker & Kautt 1996 [1997]; Hreblay & Ronkay 1998), some other taxa were placed in these genera by Boursin (1963, 1964) and Hreblay & Ronkay 1998. Kozhanchikov (1937) listed six species in Estimata , two of them ( oschi and militzae ) are synonyms of alexis ; herrichschaefferi is a good species; junctimacula Christoph, 1887 was designated as type-species of the genus Xenophysa Boursin, 1969 and separated from Estimata ( Boursin 1969; Varga 1989), and proterva Püngeler, 1904 is presently treated in Rhyacia Hübner , [1821] 1816. Lafontaine (1998) transferred three species ( Estimata parvula Alphéraky , Estimata tibethophasma Boursin, 1963 and Estimata herzioides (Corti & Draudt, 1933) , placed by Boursin (1963) to Estimata , to the genus Perissandria Warren, 1909 of the tribe Agrotini . In the course of our examination of the original descriptions of the species described in Raddea , Estimata and Erebophasma , we concluded that the taxon described from Northeast China as Estimata dailingensis Chen, 1984 (type locality: China, Heilungjiang, Dailing, 390 m) is a junior synonym (syn. n.) of Protolampra sobrina (Duponchel, 1843) ( Noctuidae , Noctuinae ), a boreal Eurasian species, distributed from West Europe to the Pacific border of North Asia. The taxon Estimata magadanica Kononenko, 1981 was transferred to Hyptioxesta by Kononenko (1984b), then to Xestia , subgenus Pachnobia by Lafontaine et al. (1998). The brachipterous female of this species was described by Kullberg et al. (1994). The systematic position of some species of the subgenus Raddea requires clarification.

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 32. 7. Xestia alexis, female, Altai (right—dorsal view, left—lateral view); 8. X. herrichschaefferi, female, Altai (right—dorsal view, left—lateral view); 9 – 16. Series of males of X. alexis, showing variability of the species; 17 – 24. Series of males of X. herrichschaefferi, showing variability of the species; 25 – 32. Northern species of the genus Xestia, subgenus Pachnobia with brachypterous females. 25, 26 — X. aequava, 27, 28 — X. alaskae; 29, 30 — X. liquidaria; 31, 32 — X. kurentzovi (right male, left female).