Neosatyrus ambiorix Wallengren 1858

Matz, Jess & Brower, Andrew V. Z., 2016, The South Temperate Pronophilina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae): a phylogenetic hypothesis, redescriptions and revisionary notes, Zootaxa 4125 (1), pp. 1-108 : 47-48

Neosatyrus ambiorix Wallengren 1858

( Figs. 8 A; 17A–C; 27)

Holoype: NRM (photo examined) Type location: Valparaiso, Valparaiso Province, Chile = Neosatyrus minimus Butler 1881

Holotype: (male) BMNH #809621 (specimen examined) Type location: probably Valparaiso, Valpariaso Province, Chile

Distribution. Found in Chile, primarily in southern Valparaiso and western Santiago Metropolitan Provinces. Specimens have also been found in northern Los Lagos Province and southern O’Higgins Province. Flies from December to March at 100–1600m ( Fig. 27 ).

Diagnosis. Similar to and sometimes confused with N. humilis , but with the hindwing ocelli between M3- CuA1 and CuA1-CuA2 larger and distinctly ringed in yellow or taupe. Males bear androconia on the forewing. Foreleg tarsi with two segments in the males and four in the females. Genitalia are very similar to N. humilis , but with valvae slightly narrower at the distal end.

Redescription. Head: Antennae 7–8mm with white scales and a longitudinal stripe of dark chocolate scales that cover half of a spatulate club. Smaller specimens may have antennae as short as 5mm. Eyes round and naked, length approximately 1.2 times width. Palps with a longitudinal white stripe along the median, male palps covered with black and warm medium brown scales and females with cream and medium brown scales. Terminal palp segment cylindrical and about one-third the length of the second segment.

Thorax of the males dark amber with iridescent black scales and covered in taupe piliform scales. Females the same, but with the addition of cream and cream piliform scales. Abdomen taupe and rust orange in both sexes. Foreleg tarsi with two segments in the males and four in the females. Midlegs and hindlegs with four rows of black spines on the tibia and tarsus.

Forewing ( Fig. 8 A): Wingspan 20–24mm. Smaller specimens may be 16mm. Termen nearly straight and the distal end of the discal cell widely V-shaped. Males with androconial patches in each cell between M1 and the inner margin with a small patch inside the discal cell along the cubitus. Dorsal side chocolate to dark chocolate brown with the fringe scales the same color and a rust red to rust orange patch over the discal cell. Veins sometimes highlighted in rust red to rust orange to just past the median, returning to brown toward the termen. Ventral side warm medium brown to chocolate with a patch of rust orange to rust red from the discal cell to just past the median, overlapping the postmedian band. Postmedian band edged in dark chocolate, but not otherwise marked. Apical ocellus is round, black, bipupillate, ringed in daffodil yellow to rust orange, and spans M1-M3

Hindwing ( Fig. 8 A): Wing rectangular, termen nearly straight and entire. Dorsal side and fringe scales similar in color to the forewing, but without the patch of rust orange or rust red over the discal cell. Long piliform scales appear at the base and over the discal cell, extending to the median and toward the inner margin. Ventral side warm medium brown to chocolate with a postmedian band sometimes demarcated by a nearly straight or slightly irregular dark chocolate line on either side of the ocelli. The proximal line, or both lines, are obscure in some specimens. Each ocellus between Rs-M1, M1-M2, M2-M3, and CuA2-1A+2A appears as a round white spot, occasionally surrounded with a round patch of black scales or ringed in taupe to daffodil yellow. Rs-M1 ocellus is sometimes absent. Ocelli between M3-CuA1 and CuA1-CuA2 are round, larger, black, unipupillate, and ringed in taupe to daffodil yellow.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 17 A–C): Uncus wide at the base, narrowing from the median to the distal end and curving dorsally into a hook. Uncus about the same length or slightly shorter than the tegumen. Gnathos acute and a little less than two-thirds the length of the uncus. Pedunculus U-shaped. Saccus U-shaped and about four-fifths the length of the gnathos. Valvae widest at the median, narrowing to a rounded acute triangle at the proximal end and to a finger-like distal terminus. Aedeagus hourglass-shaped at the distal half, the proximal half wider with a truncate terminus.

Remarks. Butler (1881) noted that N. ambiorix is common near Valparaíso among “arborescent grass” referred to as coligué, which is a species of Chusquea bamboo that can be found on the shrubby hillsides in this area.

Specimens examined. Chile, Valparaíso Province, (MTSU) CL1010-CL1018, CL1030; Chile, O’Higgins Province, (CUIC) 1 male; Chile, Los Lagos Province, (OSU) 000093664; Chile, unknown province, (BMNH) Holotype N. minimus 809621

Figures

FIGURE 8. Composite habitus images of Neosatyrus species. The left side of each specimen is the dorsal surface, the right side is the ventral surface. A: Neosatyrus ambiorix Wallengren, 1858 male holotype (NRM); B: Neosatyrus boisduvalii (Blanchard, 1852) male (MZUJ); C, D: Neosatyrus humilis (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) n. comb. male lectotype (BMNH # 809786) (C), male paralectotype (BMNH # 809783) (D); E: Neosatyrus schajovskoii (Hayward, 1954) n. comb. male (MZUJ); F: Neosatyrus vesagus (Doubleday, [1849]), male holotype (BMNH Rh 3875) illustration reproduced from Elwes (1903, plate XIV, Fig. 9).

FIGURE 17. Male genitalia of Neosatyrus species. See Fig. 2 for labels of parts. All to the same scale. A – C: Neosatyrus ambiorix Wallengren, 1858 from the UJ collection; D – F: Neosatyrus boisduvalii (Blanchard, 1852) n. comb. from the UJ collection; G – I: Neosatyrus humilis (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) n. comb. CH 40 - 5; J – L: Neosatyrus schajovskoii (Hayward, 1954) n. comb. from UJ collection, (K) showing ornamentation on the aedeagus.

FIGURE 27. Distribution of locality records for Neosatyrus species and Neomaniola euripides.