Diaphania nitidalis (Stoll, 1781)

Bernard Landry, 2016, Taxonomic revision of the Spilomelinae (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae s. l.) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, Revue suisse de Zoologie 123 (2), pp. 315-399 : 337

Diaphania nitidalis (Stoll, 1781)

Figs 17 , 102 , 148

Phalaena Pyralis nitidalis Stoll in Cramer & Stoll, 1781: 160 . Diaphania nitidalis (Cramer) : Causton et al., 2006: 141. ‒

Roque-Albelo & Landry, 2015.

Material examined: 2 ♂ from the Galápagos Islands. – Santa Cruz: low agriculture zone, GPS: S 00°42.132’, W 90° 19.156’; Horneman Farm, 220 m. Deposited in CAS, MHNG.

Diagnosis: This species ( Fig. 17 ) is unlike any other in the Galápagos by virtue of its brown lustred purple forewing with a large pale yellow patch postmedially and the hindwing similarly coloured brown along the margin and pale yellow from base to beyond middle. The wingspan of the only spread Galápagos specimen is 29.5 mm.

Biology: Host records are various Cucurbitaceae , for example in genera Citrullus , Cucurbita , Cucumis , Luffa , Momordica , Sechium and Sichana, but there is also one record in the Cactaceae ( Robinson et al., 2014) . In the Galápagos the two specimens at hand were collected in the agriculture zone in February and March.

Distribution: This species is found widely in the Western Hemisphere, from the USA across the Americas South to Argentina and including the West Indies (BMNH and MHNG specimens; Heppner, 2003; Robinson et al., 2014). From the Galápagos I have seen only specimens from Santa Cruz, but Causton et al. (2006) also report it from San Cristóbal.

Remark: I confirmed the identification of the Galápagos specimens with identified specimens in the BMNH.

Figures

Figs 17 - 24. Neotropical specimens of Spilomelinae, size not to scale. (17) Diaphania nitidalis ♀, Brazil, Bahía, Camacan, Res. Serra Bonita, 800 m, 8. iv. 2011, MHNG. (18) Ercta vittata ♂, Galápagos, Marchena, 12. iii. 1992, MHNG. (19) Herpetogramma bipunctalis ♂, Galápagos, Santa Cruz, CDRS, Barranco, 20 m, 30. iv. 2002, MHNG. (20, 21) Herpetogramma phaeopteralis. (20) ♂, Galápagos, Isabela, NE slope Alcedo, Los Guayabillos camp, 869 m, 2. iv. 2004, MHNG. (21) ♀, Galápagos, San Cristóbal, near La Loberia, sea level, 24. ii. 2005, MHNG. (22, 23) Hymenia perspectalis. (22) ♀, Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Los Gemelos, 4. v. 2002, MHNG. (23) ♀, same locality, 27. v. 1992, MHNG. (24) Lineodes integra ♂, Pinta, Cabo Ibbetson, 8 m, MHNG.

Figs 101 - 103. Male genitalia of Spilomelinae, a and b from same slides, but not to scale, (a) showing the genitalia without phallus and b, the phallus. (101) Diaphania indica: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8673, Mozambique, Makulane. (102) Diaphania nitidalis: slide BL 1810, Galápagos, Santa Cruz (CAS). (103) Ercta vittata: slide MHNG-ENTO- 9028, Galápagos, Pinta (MHNG).

Figs 148 - 152. Female genitalia of Neotropical Spilomelinae, not to scale. (148) Diaphania nitidalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8960, French Guiana. (149) Ercta vittata: slide MHNG-ENTO- 9029, Galápagos, Marchena (MHNG). (150) Herpetogramma bipunctalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8685, Galápagos, Isabela. (151) H. phaeopteralis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 8684, Galápagos, Fernandina. (152) Hymenia perspectalis: slide MHNG-ENTO- 9000, Galápagos, Santa Cruz.