Iolaus ivani, Sáfián & Collins, 2022

Sáfián, Szabolcs & Collins, Steve C., 2022, Revisional notes on Iolaus aequatorialis Stempffer & Bennett, 1958 and related species in the subgenus Philiolaus Stempffer & Bennett, 1958 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Theclinae), with description of two new species, Zootaxa 5214 (2), pp. 176-188 : 180-182

Iolaus ivani sp. nov.

FIGS.: 2G, I; 3G,I; 4D; 5D; 6B,E, 7B; 8B

Holotype: ♂ ZAMBIA, (Mudwiji) Mundwiji Plain 40 km east of Mwinilunga , bred ex egg. Emerged: 15.I.82. Deposited in ABRI.

Paratype: ♀ ZAMBIA, Mundwiji Plain , NW Zambia, bred April / May 1999 TCEC / IB/ MH / PN ABRI Coll. Deposited in ABRI.

Other material examined: 1♂, 1♀ ZAMBIA, Mundwiji Plain ( Heath et al. 2002) .

Description of male. Forewing length: 20 mm. Wingspan: 37 mm. General appearance as for males of other species in the subgenera Argiolaus and Philiolaus with black ground colour overlaid by extensive iridescent blue on upperside, and dirty white underside with black and orange submarginal lines, two tails at the tip of veins 1 and 2 and a small triangular protrusion at the tip of vein 3 on the hindwing. Upperside blue colour of a lighter turquoise blue tone, with very slight greenish tinge. Basal half of forewing covered with blue, except along costa, where black extends to base, leaving a black costal margin that tapers down towards the base. Black outer margin very broad, tapering down from apex to approximately 2 mm at the narrowest point in space 1b, broadening again towards tornus. Outer edge of blue area rather scalloped, with small black indentations along veins 2, 3 and 4, with one also beyond discal cell. Outer edge of blue bluntly drawn out in space 1b. Majority of hindwing covered with blue, except dark grey-black space 1a, along black costa, and the moderately broad black margin, which tapers down from approximately 1.5 mm to a fine black marginal line between apex and tornus. Androconia cover most of cell and upper part of wing to black costa; dark greasy grey, with brown, well-defined oval heart. Black submarginal round spot present in space 2, more prominent quadrangular one fused with black marginal line in space 1b. Tornal lobe dark claret-red, with no blue speckles, with black margin. Underside dirty white, with light brownish tinge along forewing costa and very faint grey dusting along forewing and hindwing margins.

Forewing with fine, faint, slightly curving light orangish-brown submarginal line between veins 2 and 8. Forewing androconial hair tuft beige. On hindwing, slightly broader, light orange inner submarginal line curving gently inward, reaching costa at 3 mm from apex. Outer sub-marginal line absent. Tornal spot at the end of space 1a half black, half red, inner edge ringed with silvery blue. Spot in space 2 very small and inconspicuous, slightly darker orange-red, with some black scales. Tails black with white and black edges. Fringes (cilia) short along outer margin of forewing, black on upperside, light grey on underside. Fringes white on hindwing and slightly longer along inner margin. Head black, thorax and abdomen dark grey, covered with short hairs on upperside, by white hairs on thorax underneath; abdomen with yellowish overlay. Palpi black above, white below; twice as long as diameter of eyes. Eyes bald, black. Antennae black, speckled with tiny white dots underneath, only slightly thickened towards apex; their length shorter than half of forewing.

Male genitalia. General morphology as for other species in the group as described above in detail.Dorsoventrally, the valvae do not narrow down to half the width from the base towards the inward turning tip. The ventral edge of valvae is gently curved upward in lateral view, and gently bent inwardly. The tip of the flagged fultura inferior is rather blunt.

Description of female. Forewing length: 19 mm. Wingspan: 37 mm. General appearance as for females of other species in the subgenera Argiolaus and Philiolaus with black ground colour overlaid by blue, and black spotting along outer margin on hindwing in spaces 1a and 2–5. Underside dirty white with black and/or orange-red sub-marginal lines and two tails at the tip of veins 1 and 2 and a small kick at the tip of vein 3 on hindwing. Colour on upperside watery light blue; in outer half of blue area whitish-blue; almost completely white in spaces 2–3 and also in the outer half of discal cell. Less than half of forewing covered with blue basally, costa broadly black to base. Outer edge of blue area not rounded but also not scalloped with black indentations. Only slightly drawn out in space 1b. Majority of hindwing covered with blue, except dark grey space 1a, along light-grey and black costa, and the moderately broad black margin which breaks up into rather prominent marginal spots in spaces 2 and 3. Black sub-marginal line formed by small, sometimes inconspicuous, black spots in spaces 1b, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Tornal lobe dark red to claret red, with a few blue scales marginally; not conjunct with the prominent black (with some red scaling) squat marginal spot. Tails black, edged with white and black. Underside colour and pattern of body and wings identical to those of male, except sub-marginal fine line on the forewing faint orange, almost broken up to a dashed line, marginal area between submarginal line and outer margin overlaid with brownish-grey colour.

Female genitalia. Papillae anales densely haired, rather narrow, their dorsoventral length approximately 1 mm. Posterior edge flat. Apophyses posterior straight, their length equal to dorsoventral length of papillae. Ductus bursae entirely sclerotised, finely creased longitudinally. Evenly narrow except antrum, which is extremely swollen, its diameter more than twice as large as the rest of ductus. Bursa copulatrix oval, completely membranous with no signum. Small; longitudinally shorter than half the length of ductus (including antrum). Lamella antevaginalis shield-shaped in ventral view, broadest anteriorly (cc. 2 mm) with curving edge and large, lobe-like protrusion on posterior edge.

Diagnosis. On the hindwing upperside I. ivani sp. n. has the blue area solid in space 6 ( Figs 2G, I ), while in I. aequatorialis the blue is rather diffuse, particularly at the outer edge, giving the impression of a wider black costa and apex ( Figs 2A,D, 2D, E respectively). The outer margin of the blue area in I. ivani sp. n. is, although irregular, quite sharp, with no strongly blackened veins or black indentations. I. aequatorialis has the outer edge of the blue area regularly interrupted by strongly blackened veins, forming triangular indentation along veins 2, 3 and 4.

In females, the white colouration on the forewing restricted to the outer half of the blue area, while the hindwing blue is rather homogeneous light blue. In I. aequatorialis , whitish colouration appears across the blue area on both wings, and is also pronounced on the hindwing, between the sub-marginal dashed line and the margin. The blue area on the female of I. brazza sp. n. is rather homogeneous light blue across both wings ( Figs 6C, F ). In the male genitalia the valvae of I. ivani do not taper down sharply as in I. aequatorialis . Their incurving tips are rather long and pointed (similar to those of I. aequatorialis ) and not short and blunt, as in I. mane and I. brazza sp. n. The tip of the posteriorly flagged fultura inferior is narrower and pointed, more so than in the other three species, nevertheless still blunt and not spiny ( Fig 3G ). In the female genitalia the antrum in I. ivani is entirely sclerotised and much more swollen than in I. aequatorialis and I. brazza . The illustrated female of I. mane was not dissected.

Etymology. We name the species in recognition of the late Ivan Bampton, whose contribution to breeding and documenting the larvae of many Iolaus species has been instrumental in the ongoing revision of the genus.

Discussion. The species was mentioned from Zambia, Mundwiji Plains by Heath et al. (2002) as I. aequatorialis . The holotype and the female paratype were also bred from the same area. The habitat of the Mundwiji Plains is a mosaic of grasslands, closed canopy or semi-open miombo ( Brachystegia and Julbernardia ) woodland, with stretches of riverine “riparian” forest vegetation of the transitional type with high affinity to the southern Congolese rainforests ( Heath et al. 2002). This habitat structure is rather widespread in the forest-savannah transition zone between southern DRC and north-western Zambia, where the species should occur, as well as in some parts of eastern Angola.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Iolaus males: I. aequatorialis (Uganda, Itwara Forest) upperside—A, underside—D; I. aequatorialis (DRC, Kivu) upperside—B. underside—E; I. mane (Liberia, Nimba Mountains) upperside—C, underside—F; I. ivani (Zambia, Mundwiji Plains) upperside—G, underside—I; I. brazza (Congo, Southwest Brazzaville) upperside—H, underside—J.

FIGURE 3. Iolaus male genitalia: I. aequatorialis (Uganda, Itwara, Gen. prep.: SAFI00184) lateral view—A, aedeagus—D; I. aequatorialis (DRC, Kivu, Gen. prep.: SAFI00187) lateral view—B, aedeagus—E; I. mane (Liberia, Nimba Mountains, Gen. prep.: SAFI00101) lateral view—C, aedeagus—F; I. ivani (holotype, SAFI00180) lateral view—G, aedeagus—I (vesica everted); I. brazza (holotype, Gen. prep.: SAFI00182) lateral view—H, aedeagus—J.

FIGURE 6. Iolaus females: I. aequatorialis (Uganda, Itwara Forest) upperside—A, underside—E; I. mane (Guinea, Fouta Djallon) upperside—B, underside—F; I. ivani (paratype, Zambia, Mundwiji Plain) upperside—C, underside—G; I. brazza (paratype, Congo, Southwest Brazzaville) upperside—D, underside—H.