Alesa juliae Santos & Dolibaina, 2023

Santos, Wildio Ikaro Da Graça, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2023, A review of the South American metalmark genus Alesa Doubleday, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae: Eurybiini) with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5284 (1), pp. 77-120 : 89-91

Alesa juliae Santos & Dolibaina sp. nov.

Figs 10–11 , 16–17 , 63 , 72 , 84 , 93

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Aricoris plagiaria [misidentification]; Godman, 1903. Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 1903: 546, 550; pl. 23, fig. 8 (female d, v).

Mimocastnia rothschildi [misidentification]; Seitz, 1913. Gross-Schmett. Erde 5, p. 652, pl. 127a [2,3] (female d, v).—Lamas et al., 1991. Publ. Mus. Hist. nat. UNMSM(A) 40: 14.— Robbins et al., 1996, in Wilson & Sandoval. Manu, p. 235.— Brévignon & Gallard, 1997. Lambillionea 97 (3)(1): 331.— Gallard & Fernandez, 2015. Bull. Soc. ent. France 120 (2): 138.

Mimocastnia rothschildi ? [sic]; d’Abrera, 1994. Butt. Neotrop. Region 6, Riodinidae , p. 934, 935, fig. [2] (female d).

Alesa rothschildi [misidentification]; Hall, 2003. Syst. Ent. 28: 31, 37, fig 6A (larva).— Gallard & Fernandez, 2015. Bull. Soc. ent. France 120 (2): 138 (in part).— Gallard, 2017. Riodinidae Guyane, p. 56–57 (in part), pl 10, fig. L–O (larva, pupa, imago).

Diagnosis. Alesa juliae sp. nov. is most similar to A. rothschildi . The diagnostic characters to distinguish both species were mentioned in the diagnosis of A. rothschildi .

Description. MALE. Head. Frons whitish with a medial dark brown spot; paraocular areas whitish. Labial palpi whitish, third segment brown. Antenna black, about 60% of the forewing length.

Thorax. Dorsally black with dark green metallic scales; ventrally grayish-cream. Legs same color as ventral thorax.

Forewing. Length 24–26mm, n=7; females 25–27mm, n=3; 1/3 longer than wide; costal margin slightly convex; apex rounded, not projected; outer margin slightly convex; tornus obtuse; anal margin more or less straight. Upper side ground color and fringes black, lighter in the subapical and submarginal areas; bands and spots metallic dark green; basal band long, composed by three spots between costal and anal margin and merged with two short rectangular spots of the postbasal band; postbasal spot in discal cell never extending beyond origin of CuA 2; discal band formed by two poorly defined spots in CuA 1 –CuA 2 and CuA 2 –2A, the latter medially divided; postdiscal band curved and broken, formed by nine narrow spots between R 2 and 2A, one in each space, except two in CuA 2 –2A, above and below the anal fold; submarginal band long, narrow and merged with the postdiscal band, from R 5 to upper half of CuA 2 –2A, not reaching the outer margin; proximal 2/3 of 2A to the anal margin with a continuous band. Ground color of the underside dark gray proximal to CuA 1 in discal and submarginal areas, light gray along the distal half of discal cell, subapical, apical and submarginal areas; dark yellow at the base, on proximal 1/3 of costal area, and in discal cell along proximal half of Radius and proximal 2/3 of Cubitus; upper side spots barely marked underside by darker scales, mainly the basal and postbasal spots in discal cell, the spot at end of discal cell, and the submarginal spots; fringe light gray.

Hindwing. More or less rounded, slightly longer than wide; costal margin at proximal half straight then strongly convex towards apex; apex obtuse, not projected; outer margin convex; tornus obtuse, not projected; anal margin convex. Ground color of the upper side and fringes black, paler on costal margin, distal discal cell and Rs and most of space 2A—anal margin, densely covered by gray, thinner and longer scales than the remainder of the wing; bands and spots metallic dark green, never extending above Radius and Rs; basal and postbasal bands formed by one spot in and another below discal cell; discal band with four spots in M 2 –M 3, inner half of discal cell end, CuA 1 and CuA 2, and CuA 2 –2A, partially merged; discal spotsmall and rounded; postdiscal area with four separated, squared spots, between M 2 and 2A, partially divided medially in CuA 2 –2A; submarginal band with six narrow round spots between M 1 and 2A, vestigial in M 1 –M 2, other spots wider, one spot in each space, except two in CuA 2 –2A, above and below anal fold. Ground color of the underside light gray, dark yellow at base of wing, between discal cell and costal margin up to proximal 1/4 of Sc+R 1, between discal cell and anal margin, up to 1/4 of CuA–2A, proximal 1/4 of 2A–3A, and above and below of almost all the extension of 3A; bands and spots black except when noted; three rounded basal spots, the longer in Sc+R 1 –Radius, remaining spots in distal and proximal discal cell, the last dark yellow; three rounded postbasal spots, two in the discal cell, the distal black, near to the origin of M 1, partially merged with the lower dark yellow spot, the third dark yellow in CuA–2A; a small spot near the origin of M 2 at end of discal cell, and a longer spot in basal portion of discal cell, near to the origin of M 3; discal band curved with eight separated, triangular spots from Sc+R 1 to 2A, dark yellow in CuA 2 –2A, merged with postdiscal band in Sc+R 1 –Rs, partially merged with postdiscal band in Rs–M 1; postdiscal band curved with eight spots from Sc+R 1 to 2A, one in each space, except two in CuA 2 –2A, posteriorly wider; submarginal band of seven narrow spots from Rs to 2A, one in each space, except two in CuA 2 –2A, closer to postdiscal band than to outer margin, fading towards outer margin; fringes gray.

Abdomen. Dorsally black with dark green metallic scales, ventrally grayish brown.

Genitalia. Tegumen short and wide, with a broad and rounded anterior indentation, and a rounded and wide lateral ventral lobe; fenestra narrow, laterally tapering; combined ventral arm of tegumen and dorsal arm of saccus fused, enlarged medially; anterior projection of saccus rectangular, shorter than tegumen, anterior margin laterally larger; posterior projection triangular, shorter than anterior projection; uncus twice longer than tegumen, distal margin bilobed with a deep median indentation; gnathos elbow-like, tapering distally to a hook; valva wide, anterior margin rounded, area anterior 2/3 longer than wide, dorsal and outer projection well developed, ventrally reaching the ventral margin of the valva, widening the inner and ventral portion distally, distal third densely convered with strong and long setae, inner projection conical, parallel to valva, tapering distally, about 1/3 of the length of the valva, distally covered by thin and short setae; transtilla median process triangular, projected distally, deeply separated from the two lateral processes which are also triangular but a somewhat longer; fultura inferior wide and sclerotized; aedeagus thick and straight, twice longer than the combined length of tegumen and uncus.

FEMALE. Head. As in male, except by the longer labial palpus.

Thorax. As in male, but dorsally with metallic blue scales.

Forewing. Length 30mm, n=1; longer and rounder than in male. Upper side ground color black, posteriorly paler; large basal metallic area, dark to light blue, up to half the length of discal cell, CuA 2 –2A and 2/3 of 2A–anal margin; postdiscal whitish cream band from R 1 –CuA 2, wider medially, not reaching outer margin. Underside ground color grayish brown, darker along proximal margin of postdiscal band; wing base dark yellow in proximal costal area and discal cell; four dark spots, three along the discal cell, and another in M 3 -CuA 1.

Hindwing. Shape as in male. Underside ground color gray along anal area; with a large metallic dark to light blue area from basal to submarginal area along discal cell and M 1 –M 2 to 2A, delimiting rounded ocelli-like spots between M 3 and 2A. Underside ground color grayish brown, spots and bands as in male, but less marked.

Abdomen. Dorsally as in male, ventrally grayish brown.

Genitalia. Papilla analis rectangular, twice wider than long, dorsally wider; sterigma mostly membranous, with a small sclerotized ring below ostium; bursa copulatrix about ten times longer then papilla analis, membranous, without signa, corpus bursae undistinguished from ductus bursae.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to the grandmother of the first author, Julia Mendes (in memoriam), as a feminine noun in the genitive case.

Type material. Holotype male with the following labels: / HOLOTYPUS / 23–30-VIII-2014, Rio Moa, P[ar]q[ue] Nac[ional] Serra do Divisor (sede), Mâncio Lima, Acre, Brasil; Mielke, Casagrande, Carneiro, Dias, Dolibaina, Siewert & Salik leg., (7º 26’ 52” S, 73º 39’ 55” [ W]) / DZ 35.204 / Holotypus Alesa juliae W. Santos, Dolibaina, Dias, O. Mielke & Casagrande des. 2021 / ( DZUP) .

Allotype female with the following labels: / ALLOTYPUS / Rio Arinos (Ma[to]. Gr[osso].), Faz[enda[. S[„o]. Jo„o (Muni[cipio]. Diamantino), 300–400m, 10-X-1976, E. Furtado leg., / 2536 / Coleç„o H. Ebert / Gen. prep. W. Santos 2017 / DZ 35.144 / Allotypus Alesa juliae W. Santos, Dolibaina, Dias, O. Mielke & Casagrande des. 2021 / ( DZUP).

Paratypes: BRAZIL — Acre: same data as holotype, 5 males, DZ 35.194, DZ 35.174, DZ 35.164, DZ 35.154, DZ 35.184 ( DZUP). Porto Acre ( Reserva Humaitá ), 8.X.2006, 1 male, O. Mielke & Casagrande leg, DZ 35.123 ( DZUP) . Rondônia: Cacaulândia ( Fazenda Rancho Grande ), 9.IX.1993, 1 female, G. T. Austin leg. ( MGCL), 10.IX.1993, 1 female, G. T. Austin leg. ( MGCL) .

Distribution. Alesa juliae sp. nov. is distributed in the western Amazon, in Ecuador ( d’Abrera 1994), Peru (Lamas et al. 1991; Robbins et al. 1996) and Brazil ( Fig. 93 ).

Comments. Alesa juliae sp. nov. is very similar and for a long time was confused with A. rothschildi , mostly due to the misrepresentation of the species from the original description of A. rothschildi up until now. D’Abrera (1994) properly recognized the existence of two distinct phenotypes of Mimocastinia rothschildi examining specimens at the NHMUK, A. rothschildi from the Guianas and a female of a “potentially new race or species” from Ecuador. The Ecuadorian female illustrated by D’Abrera (1994) is the specimen incorrectly recognized as the female of Setabis plagiaria by Godman (1903) and indicated as one of the two female syntypes of A. rothschildi by Seitz (1913), herein described as A. juliae sp. nov..

Despite the similarity between these two species, A. juliae sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from A. rothschildi by the rounded forewing apex, males with less developed bands on the fore- and hindwings upper side, females with metallic blue color, and characters of the male genitalia. Both species are rare and poorly represented in collections. The few known specimens of A. juliae sp. nov. suggest a wide distribution in the western Amazon, while A. rothschildi seems restricted to eastern Amazon and the Guianas.

Gallard & Fernandez (2015) and Gallard (2017) illustrated the immature stages of A. juliae sp. nov., taken by Donald Harvey and Robert Robbins at the Manu National Park, Pakitza, Madre de Dios, Peru, in 1989. Larvae of A. juliae sp. nov. were found in a nest of Cephalotes atratus (Linnaeus, 1758) from a fallen tree. This species of ant nests in tree trunks and branches high up in the canopy of the Amazon rainforest, and this fact may be directly correlated with the flying behavior of A. juliae sp. nov.. Hall (2003) studied these specimens and observed several morphological adaptations for myrmecophyly in A. juliae sp. nov., such as the presence of tentacle nectary organs at junction of the eight and nine larval segments. The available information suggests that larvae of A. juliae sp. nov. are probably carnivorous, feeding on ants’ larvae at least in part of its life cycle.

Different from other species of Alesa , females of A. rothschildi and A. juliae sp. nov. are strongly sexually dimorphic. These species, judging by the color pattern of the females, are probably involved in mimetic rings with other sympatric species of butterflies, including species of Nymphalidae (mostly species of Heliconiinae , Charaxinae , and Biblidinae ) and Lycaenidae .

Adults of A. juliae sp. nov. hilltop like A. rothschildi . Males of A. juliae sp. nov. were observed in two collecting events flying in the shaded edge of a forest gap on the summit of a small hill at the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, Brazil, around 12:00h. In June of 2013 a male was observed walking on a thin tree branch, about seven meters from the ground (DRD, pers. comm.). In August of 2014, five males were captured in the same day while flying short distances and quickly perching underneath leaves, about five meters from the ground (DRD, pers. comm.). No additional specimens were observed in the last collecting event at this site during October of 2018.

Figures

FIGURES 93. Geographic distribution of Alesa beneluzi, A. rothschildi and A. juliae sp. nov..

FIGURES 8–11. Males of species of “prema group”, part II, in dorsal and ventral views (left to right). 8–9, A. rothschildi (SF). 10–11, A. juliae sp. nov. Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima (holotype). Scale bar: 1cm.

FIGURES 12–17. Females of species of “prema group”, in dorsal and ventral views (left to right). 12–13, A. prema Brazil, Maranh„o: Riach„o (DZ 34.941). 14–15, A. rothschildi (SF). 16–17, A. juliae sp. nov. Brazil, Mato Grosso, Diamantino, rio Arinos (USNM). Scale bar: 1cm.

FIGURES 61–63. Male genitalia of species of “prema group”. 61, A. prema Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor (DZ 34.884). 62, A. rothschildi Brazil, Pará: Óbidos (OM 67.441). 63, A. juliae sp. nov. Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor (DZ 35.184). Left to right: dorsal view of tegumen and uncus, lateral and ventral views of genitalia, and dorsal view of valvae and transtilla. Scale bar: 1mm.

FIGURES 71–76. Female genitalia of Alesa species. 71, A. prema Brazil, Mato Grosso: Barra do Garça (DZ 35.254). 72, A. juliae sp. nov. Brazil, Mato Grosso: Rio Arinos (DZ 35.144). 73, A. telephae Brazil, Acre: Mâncio Lima (DZ 35.094). 74, A. amesis Brazil, Amazonas: Tefé (DZ 35.116). 75, A. lipara Brazil, Amazonas: Fonte Boa (DZ 48.237). 76, Putative female of A. hemiurga Brazil, Amazonas: Tefé (DZ 35.266). Up to bottom: lateral view of papilla analis and ventral view of sterigma and bursa copulatrix. Scale bar: 1mm.

FIGURES 82–85. Species of Alesa in situ, part I. 82–83, A. prema, male from Peru, San Martín, Tarapoto (by Ken Kertell, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72706630) (82), female from Brazil, Paraná, Foz do Iguaçu (by Roberto Greve) (83). 84, A. juliae sp. nov., male from Ecuador, Napo, Tena (by Robert Carrion, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27548806). 85, A. telephae, male from Peru, San Martín, Rumipata-Mishquiyacu area (by David Geale, https://calydna.com/taxon/4372- alesa-telephae).