Hoeneidia quadrata Saldaitis, Benedek & Babics

Babics, János, Benedek, Balázs & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2014, A new species of Hoeneidia (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Noctuinae: Noctuini) from China, Zootaxa 3795 (5), pp. 590-596 : 590-594

Hoeneidia quadrata Saldaitis, Benedek & Babics sp. n.

( Figs 1, 2, 7–9, 12, 13 , 16 )

Type material. Holotype: male ( Fig. 2 ), China, N. Sichuan, road Barkam/Hong Yuan, 3200 m, 23.ix.2011, N32º10.353”, E102º29.692”, Floriani leg., in the collection of GBG / ZSM; (JB 1952m).

Paratypes: 2 females ( Fig. 1 ), China, Sichuan, near Ba Mei, N30˚28,693’ E101˚38,866’, 09.x. 2011, 3689 m, leg. Floriani, JB2115f (coll. AFM).

Diagnosis. The small size and quadratic wing shape of this species makes it easy to separate from the other member of the genus. Otherwise, the external appearance clearly shows more typical Hoeneidia colouration and forewing pattern characters. The new species externally differs from the type-species of the genus, H. cidarioides ( Figs 3, 4 ), by its finely bipectinated antennae. The male genitalia of H. quadrata sp. n. ( Figs 12, 13 ) differs from H. cidarioides ( Figs 10, 11 ) by its characteristically shorter and quadrangular valvae, longer but broader harpe, shorter and basally curved uncus, and its low positioned. The aedeagus of H. quadrata sp. n. ( Fig. 13 ) differs from that of H. cidarioides ( Fig. 11 ) by its shorter but broader carinal cornutus, and shorter coecum penis. The female genitalia of H. quadrata sp. n. ( Fig. 16 ) differs from H. cidarioides ( Fig. 17 ) by its characteristically quadrangular-shaped papillae anales, relatively elongated ductus bursae and pancake-shaped ductus bursae.

Description. Wingspan of male 29 mm, female 33 mm, length of forewing of male 14 mm, female 15 mm. Head and thorax dark, mouse-grey with fine black scales. Palpi similarly coloured, relatively short, densely hairy; male antennae finely serrated throughout, brownish-grey coloured; female antennae ciliate. Forewing more or less quadrangular in shape, relatively broad but short; ground colour similar to thorax with fine roseate irroration; veins covered with fine, black scales; subbasal fascia indistinct, sinuous; antemedial fascia straight with a characteristic sharktooth extension at the costal field and a fine black medial distal flare, followed proximally by a narrow, pale grey band; claviform stigma reduced into a small but well discernible, black hatch; orbicular stigma slightly visible, more or less circular, outlined with fine, black scales; reniform stigma well discernible, kidney shaped, diminishing brown scales and characteristic C-shaped, black irroration, followed distally by a rounded, pale brown cloud; median field reddish-brown with fine whitish irroration; medial fascia indistinct; postmedial fascia more or less indistinct, reddish-brown; subterminal dark grey fascia faded, followed proximally by a broad, brownish-grey coloured band; terminal fascia black; marginal field dark mouse-grey, cilia uniformly grey. Hindwing dark blackish-grey, veins covered by black coloured scales; discal spot well discernible, cilia similar to those of forewing. Underside of both forewing and hindwing dark greyish-black with fine blackish irroration, veins covered by black scales.

Male genitalia ( Figs 12, 13 ). Uncus stout, proximally curved, distally straight throughout, apically finely hooked; tegumen relatively low positioned, broad, with sclerotized margin; penicular lobes well developed, bell-shaped; fultura inferior characteristically trapezoidal; saccus narrow and short, V-shaped with broad and sclerotized margins; vinculum short, sclerotized; valvae symmetrical, quadrangular in shape, relatively short but broad, slightly curved along with parallel margins; sacculus broad but short, heavily sclerotized, with parallel margins; harpe slightly elongated but strong, heavily sclerotized, characteristically curved distally, apically tapering; harpe basis relatively broad and elongated, heavily sclerotized; cucullus reduced into two small but characteristic, triangular costal extensions; aedeagus characteristically short and broad, cylindrical; coecum penis characteristically short; carina ventrally extended with a strong, thorn-like, lateral bar; vesica everted dorsally, curved along, anterior part spherical and covered with fine spiculi field.

Female genitalia. ( Fig. 16 ). Ovipositor characteristically short and conical; papillae anales short, quadrangular, densely hairy; apophysis posterioris medium length, straight and fine; apophysis anterioris relatively short and fine; ostium bursae relatively narrow, sclerotized with a fine, quadrangular excision; ductus bursae elongated, distal end sclerotized, proximal end membranous, V-shaped; corpus bursae pancake shaped, membranous, relatively large and elongated; cervix bursae dorsally positioned.

Molecular analysis. In addition to the morphological evidence, DNA barcoding corroborates the existence of a new species of Hoeneidia . Full length 658 base pair 'barcodes' of the Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 5' Region (CO1-5P) gene were prepared by the University of Guelph's barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) by methods described in Hebert et al. (2003). Molecular variation based on the Kimura two-parameter distance model for COI DNA barcodes between four specimens of H. quadrata sp. n. and two specimens of H. cidarioides are 8.55%, while one of the H. quadrata sp. n. sequences diverged from the other three by 1.55%.

Remarks. A single male was collected during October, 2010 ( China, W. Sichuan, Tibetan Plateau, Xinduqiao env., 3500 m, 08.x.2010, N29°52.391', E102°18.593", Floriani leg., in the collection of AFM; (JB 1778m )), that is slightly different in wing shape ( Fig. 7 ) and genitalia structure ( Figs 8, 9 ) from the holotype specimen of H. quadrata sp. n., however its COI DNA sequence was identical to two others for the new species. The H. quadrata specimen from Xinduqiao superficially resembles Nekrasovia sinica Ronkai & Varga, 1997 ( Figs 5, 6 , 14, 15, 18 ), but it can be easily separated by its smaller size, the shorter male antennae pectination, the more acute forewings, the reddish reniform and claviform stigma, and by the straight postmedian fascia. We exclude this male from the Paratype series of the new species as more specimens are needed to clarify the taxonomic position of this population.

Bionomics and distribution. The new species is known from two localities in the Barkam and Bai Mei areas ( Figs 19, 20 ) of north part China's Sichuan Province on the east edge of the Tibetan plateau. A single male and two females were collected from the end of September to early October at altitudes ranging from 3200 to 3700 m. Moths were attracted to lights during a very cold night in a shrubby and swampy area. Specimens were on the wing with few other autumn Noctuidae species, such as Xestia aplectoides (Draudt, 1963) and the sympatric H. cidarioides .

Etymology. The name refers to the quadrangular shaped forewing of the new species.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Hoeneidia and Nekrasovia ssp. adults. 1. H. quadrata sp. n., female, paratype, China, Sichuan (coll. AFM); 2. H. quadrata sp. n., male, holotype, China, Sichuan (coll. GBG / ZSM); 3. H. cidarioides, male, China, Sichuan (coll. AFM); 4. H. cidarioides, female, China, Yunnan (coll. BBT); 5. N. sinica, male, China, Sichuan (coll. AFM); 6. N. sinica, female, China, Yunnan (coll. NRCV); 7. H. quadrata, sp. n., male, China, Sichuan (coll. AFM).

FIGURES 8 – 13. Hoeneidia ssp. male genitalia. 8. H. quadrata sp. n., capsule, prep. BJ 1778; 9. H. quadrata sp. n., aedeagus, prep. BJ 1778; 10. H. cidarioides, capsule, prep. BJ 1777; 11. H. cidarioides, aedeagus, prep. BJ 1777; 12. H. quadrata sp. n., holotype, capsule, prep. BJ 1952; 13. H. quadrata sp. n., holotype, aedeagus, prep. BJ 1952.

FIGURES 14 – 18. Nekrasovia ssp. male, Hoeneidia and Nekrasovia ssp. female genitalia. 14. N. sinica, capsule, prep. BJ 1887; 15. N. sinica, aedeagus, prep. BJ 1887; 16. H. quadrata sp. n., paratype, genitalia prep. BJ 2115; 17. H. cidarioides, genitalia prep. BJ 1817; 18. N. sinica, genitalia prep. BJ 1888.

FIGURES 19 – 20. Biotopes. 19. China, W. Sichuan, Tibetan Plateau, Xinduqiao env., 3500 m, 08. x. 2010, N 29 ° 52.391 ', E 102 ° 18.593 ", locality of Hoeneidia quadrata sp. n. (pictured by Alessandro Floriani); 20. China, N. Sichuan, road Barkam / Hong Yuan, 3200 m, 23. ix. 2011, N 32 º 10.353 ”, E 102 º 29.692 ”, type locality of Hoeneidia quadrata sp. n. (pictured by Alessandro Floriani).