Isoura clara Babics & Ronkay

Babics, János & Ronkay, László, 2011, On the taxonomy of the Exophyla-Isoura-Perinaenia generic-complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Catocalinae), Zootaxa 2733, pp. 16-30 : 26-30

Isoura clara Babics & Ronkay sp. n.

(Plate: figs 7–8; gen. fig. 5)

Holotype: female, Nepal, Mechi, Taplejung area, Lamite Banjang, 3450 m, 87˚56’E, 27˚29’N, 27.X.1996, leg. Gy. M. László & G. Ronkay; slide No. JB1061. The specimen is deposited in coll. G. Ronkay (Budapest).

Paratypes. Nepal: 1 male, Kanchenjunga Himal, 1 km E of Lhonak, 4700 m, 16–17.VIII.2000, leg. M. Hreblay & T. Csővári; Vietnam: 1 female, Prov. Lao Cai, Sa Pa, Hotel Cat Cat, 1495 m, 22˚19.976’N, 103˚50.410’E, 10.XII.2008, leg. L. Papp, L. Peregovits & L. Ronkay; slide No. JB1062 (coll. HNHM Budapest). Indonesia: 1 male, Sulawesi, Puncak Palopo, 900–1300 m, VI.1998, leg. local collector; slide No. JB1063 (coll. G. Ronkay, Budapest). The paratypes are deposited in the collections of P. Gyulai (Miskolc), G. Ronkay (Budapest) and the HNHM.

Diagnosis. Isoura clara differs externally from the related I. fuscicollis ( Butler, 1889) by its clear yellow hindwings without transverse stripe on both surfaces, and the slightly darker forewing ground colour without lustrous costal suffusion. The male genitalia of I. clara differ from those of I. fuscicollis by their much longer and evenly curved uncus, narrower but longer fultura inferior, distally much broader and more rounded valva, longer erect part of harpe, finer, less curved ampulla, and the smaller, less ample vesica without long, apically sclerotised terminal diverticulum. In the female genitalia, I. clara differs from its sister-species, I. fuscicollis by their characteristically U-shaped ostium/antrum complex, curved ductus bursae and the longer apophyses anteriores (see the gen. figs 5 and 6).

Description. Sexes similar. Wingspan: 44–50 mm, length of forewing: 21–23 mm. Head and collar velvety chocolate-brown to blackish brown; palpi medium-long, reddish brown, antenna filiform, pale brown. Vestiture of thorax rather scale-like, ochreous-grey with sparse blackish hairs; abdomen pale brown with more ochreous dorsum. Forewing ground colour pale khaki-brown with fine ochreous and black irroration and violaceous shade.

Subbasal line and median fascia deleted, antemedial and postmedial lines diffuse but clearly recognisable, darker brown followed by paler shadow; postmedial crossline with characteristic black spot at tornus. Orbicular stigma deleted, reniform stigma narrow, marked by fine, pale outline and darker centre. Subterminal line a hardly visible, pale and broad stripe; terminal line yellowish-ochreous, followed inside by minute black dots on veins; cilia as ground colour. Hindwing pale, unicolorous golden yellow, transverse line absent, discal spot deleted or very weak; marginal suffusion dark chocolate-brown, relatively short and strongly tapering below vein m1. Inner part of cilia yellow, outer part darker brown, especially in apical area. Underside of forewing fawn-coloured, inner part suffused by dark chocolate-brown scales towards postmedial line, termen pale brown. Underside of hindwing slightly paler yellow, less shining than on upper side, costal area with darker brown irroration, discal spot present but pale; marginal suffusion chocolate-brown. Male genitalia. Uncus long, slender, evenly curved, apically finely hooked. Tegumen symmetrical, narrow and elongated; penicular lobes short, tooth-like; fultura inferior sclerotised, subtriangular with deep and broad medio-apical incision and with two wedge-shaped ventro-lateral processes. Vinculum strongly sclerotised, relatively shortly V-shaped; saccus distinct. Valvae symmetrical, elongated, distally dilated and apically widely rounded (somewhat rabbit-ear shaped). Sacculus long and narrow, with parallel margins and heavily sclerotised posterior margin. Erect part of harpe fine, thorn-like; basal plate of ampulla subtriangular, erect part heavily sclerotised, slender and falcate, apically acute. Aedeagus long, cylindrical, coecum penis short, handle-shaped and slightly inflated; carinal plate relatively long, beak-shaped. Vesica everted forward and recurved dorsally; composed from two basal and two terminal diverticula of different shape, all are without cornuti. Female genitalia. Ovipositor elongated-conical, papillae anales long, caudally tapering, moderately hairy; apophyses posteriores medium-long, thin and straight, apophyses anteriores heavily sclerotised, short and thick, slightly arched. Ostium bursae heavily sclerotised, posterior part characteristically broadly U-shaped (tuning-fork-shaped), anterior part short, tubular, fused with posterior part of ductus bursae. Ductus bursae long, tubular, arched, posterior twothirds heavily sclerotised, anterior part membranous. Cervix bursae dorsally positioned; corpus bursae membranous, with helicoid distal part and discoidal-globular fundus; signum long, ribbon-like and coiled, finely dentate.

Bionomics and distribution. The four known specimens were collected in rather remote areas of south-eastern Asia ( Nepal, northern Vietnam and Sulawesi). The two females were found in late autumn, they were most probably prepared for the overwintering; the rather worn male is possibly an old specimen which had emerged from the pupa a year earlier. The southern Himalayan specimens were collected in human settlements where they can easily find shelters for the diapause.

Etymology. The new species is named by the lack of the dark transverse stripe from the hindwing median area, in Latin: “ clara ” – clean.