Miltochrista quadra Joshi, Singh & Volynkin

Joshi, Rahul, Singh, Navneet, Kirti, Jagbir Singh, Volynkin, Anton V. & Bucsek, Karol, 2017, Two new species of Miltochrista from India (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae), Zootaxa 4238 (3), pp. 445-450 : 446-448

Miltochrista quadra Joshi, Singh & Volynkin , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 7, 8, 9 )

Type locality. Wokha , Nagaland ( India).

Type material. Holotype: male, India, Nagaland, Wokha , 1440 m, 30.V.2010. (Coll. R. Joshi) . Paratypes: 2males, 2 females, same data as in holotype (Registration number: PUP /RJ – 186).

Etymology. The species is named due to the presence of four postmedial spots on forewing.

Description. Adult ( Fig. 1 ).Wingspan 26 mm in both males and females. Head with frons and vertex pale brick-red; black spot at vertex. Antennae brown with base yellow. Labial palpi brownish with tips yellow, porrect. Thorax with patagia and tegulae pale brick-red, a pair of black spots at tegulae and prothorax; pectus yellow. Forewing pale brick-red with costa black towards base; subbasal black spot; two obliquely placed antemedial black spots; a discoidal black spot; a postmedial black spot near costa; two others at M1 and M3, near termen, and another near tornus; outer area brighter than the rest of the wing; cilia yellowish; underside fuscous except costa, termen and hind margin. Hindwing pale yellowish orange; outer area with fuscous scales, more concentrated at margin. Fore legs completely black; mid legs with joints yellow; hind legs yellow, banded with black. Abdomen pale ochreous-yellow; anal tuft orange yellow. Male genitalia (Figs. 7,8) with uncus long, S-shaped, tip pointed; tegumen as long as uncus; vinculum shorter than tegumen, broad v-shaped; valva apex lobe-like, distal costal process not developed, distal saccular process elongated, well separated from valva apex, strongly curved and sclerotized, with tip pointed, reaching beyond costal flap; juxta broad, squarish; transtilla weakly sclerotized; vesica globular, membranous, with a large field of short spines at distal end, and a long cornutus; ductus ejaculatorious entering apically. Female genitalia ( Fig. 9 ) with corpus bursae irregular, partially membranous, sparsely placed spicules present, posteriorly sclerotized with few long and short spines; ductus bursae short, broad, weakly sclerotized; ductus seminalis entering corpus bursae.

Diagnosis. M. quadra sp. nov. belongs to the M. modesta species-group that is under revision by Volynkin & Černý (in prep.) and comprises more than fifteen species distributed in Himalaya, China and Indochina. The closest relatives of M. quadra sp. nov. are M. weidenhofferi ( Černý, 2012) , comb. nov. known from Thailand and M. discisigna ( Moore, 1878) , comb. nov. known from Himalayan region. Externally, the new species differs from M. weidenhofferi (see Černý 2012: figs 1–4) by its larger size (wingspan of M. weidenhofferi is 20 mm), the forewing more elongated, slightly narrower and more angular, absence of a longitudinal costal black strip subapically, smaller dots of forewing pattern, and the blackish suffusion in the marginal area of hindwing is significantly diffused; from M. discisigna differs by its slightly larger size (wingspan of M. discisigna is 22–23 mm), the pale ochreous-yellow abdomen (in M. discisigna the abdomen is blackish-brown), the forewing slightly narrower, absence of smallest black spots in the postmedial fascia, and the hindwing pale yellowish orange with intensive blackish suffusion in marginal area (in M. discisigna the hindwing is blackish brown with only slight yellow suffusion in basal and subbasal areas). The male genitalia structure of the new species is similar to that of M. weidenhofferi , M. discisigna , and Chinese M. rubricans ( Leech, 1890) , stat. & comb. nov. and M. szetschwanica ( Daniel, 1952) , stat. & comb. nov.; from the two latter species, M. quadra sp. nov. well differs externally by its smaller size, narrower forewing, pale brick-red forewing ground color, details of forewing pattern, and presence of an intensive blackish suffusion in the marginal area of hindwing. In the male genitalia, M. quadra sp. nov. ( Fig. 7, 8 ) differs from M. weidenhofferi (see Černý 2012: figs 13, 14) by the distal saccular extension shorter and narrower and the cornutus shorter and slenderer; from M. discisigna ( Figs. 12, 13) differs by the strong spines in vesica and presence of only large cornutus, whereas in M. discisigna the spines are smaller, and there is a bunch of two shorter and narrower cornuti; from M. rubricans ( Figs. 14, 15) differs by the uncus shorter and medially broadened, the vesica spines stronger, the cornutus much larger; from M. szetschwanica ( Figs. 16, 17) differs by the uncus shorter and medially broadened, the valva apex broader, the vesica spines stronger, the cornutus significantly slenderer and slightly shorter. The male genitalia of M. quadra sp. nov. are also similar to those of M. pseudomodesta sp. nov., the differences are given in the diagnosis of the latter. The female genitalia of M. quadra sp. nov. ( Fig. 9 ) are very similar to those of M. weidenhofferi (see Černý 2012: fig. 15) but differs by its narrower posterior sclerotized part of ductus bursae. Female genitalia of M. discisigna , M. rubricans and M. szetschwanica are still unknown.

Distribution. The species is known from its type locality in North East India only.

Taxonomic notes. Earlier, M. rubricans stat. & comb. nov. was treated as a synonym of Miltochrista carnea ( Poujade, 1886) , comb. nov. known from China ( Hampson, 1900; Strand, 1922; Fang, 2000). The study of its lectotype (designated by Hampson 1900) and additional specimens confirmed its species status. M. szetschwanica ( Daniel, 1952) , stat. & comb. nov. was described as a subspecies of Miltochrista unipuncta ( Leech, 1890) , comb. nov. known from China, but its appearance and male genitalia are strongly differing from those of M. unipuncta , therefore it is upgraded here to the species level. M. discisigna was treated earlier within the genus Asura ( Hampson 1900; 1914; Strand 1922; Singh et al. 2014), but has male genitalia clearly belonging to Miltochrista , therefore the new combination is introduced here: M. discisigna ( Moore, 1878) , comb. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Miltochrista spp., adults. 1, Miltochrista quadra Joshi, Singh & Volynkin, sp. nov., male, NE India; 2, Miltochrista pseudomodesta Joshi, Singh & Volynkin, sp. nov. male, NE India; 3, M. discisigna, male, E India, Meghalaya, Khasis (© NHM); 4, M. rubricans, lectotype male, China, Chang Yang (© NHM); 5, M. szetschwanica, male, China, Sichuan (ZISP); 6, M. modesta, syntype male, Kwei-Chow [China, Guizhou] (© NHM).

FIGURES 7 – 9. Miltochrista spp., male and female genitalia. 7, 8, male genitalia, Miltochrista quadra Joshi, Singh & Volynkin, sp. nov., NE India; 9, female genitalia, ditto species.