Iragoides dudai, Solovyev & Saldaitis, 2021

Solovyev, Alexey V. & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2021, Five new species of Limacodidae (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea) from South-East Asia, Zootaxa 4999 (2), pp. 101-116 : 103

Iragoides dudai sp. nov.

( Figs 1 , 16 )

Type-material. Holotype: ♂, “ China, W. Sichuan, | road Yaan / Kangding | Erlang Shan Mt. | H- 2000 m | N 29˚87.340`` | E102˚30.970`` | 27.vi.2019. | Butvila & Saldaitis leg.” ( WIGJ; genital slide № CAS-20-06) . Paratypes: 3♂, data as holotype ( CAFM, CASV and CASU, genital slide № CAS-20-11) .

Description. Male. Forewing length 14.5–15.0 mm, wingspan 29.0–32.0 mm ( Fig. 1 ). Antenna shortly pectinate. Ground color bronzy brown. Head, anterior part of thorax dorsally, and dorsal patches of abdomen red. White scales below base of antennae, and on distal parts of coxa, femur, tibia and tarsal segments. Forewings bronzy dark brown, with pale oblique medial fasciae running from apex to ca. 1/3 of inner margin. Hindwings greyish brown.

Genitalia. Uncus triangular with slender tip and with strongly sclerotized apical spur ( Fig. 16 ). Gnathos slen- der, somewhat flattened apically. Valva generally triangle-shaped, with slightly concave costa, acute apically. Juxta broad. Anellus with two lateral areas densely covered with strongly sclerotized piliform spurs. Aedeagus approximately as long as valva, tubular, strongly curved in middle part, with strongly sclerotized small apical spur dorsally.

Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis. The male of Iragoides dudai sp. nov. is distinguished externally from I. crispa ( Swinhoe, 1890) and I. elongata Hering, 1931 ( Figs 2, 3, 5 ) by dark bronzy brown forewings bearing distinct pale oblique medial fasciae running from the apex to ca. 1/3 of the inner margin. A pattern somewhat similar to the one of the dark form of I. crispa ( Fig. 2 ), but the fascia in this species is not as conspicuous. The males Iragoides dudai sp. nov. are also similar in wing pattern to the females of I. crispa ( Fig. 4 ), however the female of the new species is unknown so far. In male genitalia the new species differs from I. crispa ( Fig. 17 , the apical spine is shown by the arrow) by a very small and strongly sclerotized apical spine on the aedeagus ( Fig. 16 , the apical spine is shown by the arrow).

Distribution. The new species is known from the Erlang Shan mountain range at the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau in China’s Sichuan province.

Phenology and habitat. Four males were collected at the end of June at 2,000 m asl, in well preserved mixed forest habitat dominated by various broad-leaved trees such as oaks ( Quercus dentata , Q. glauca ), poplars ( Populus cathayana , P. simonii ), elm ( Ulmus parvifolia ), rhododendrons ( Rhododendron brachycarpum , R. dauricum ), and bamboos ( Phyllostachys ssp., Borinda ssp., Fargesia spp. ) ( Fig. 33 ).

Etymology. The new species is named after our colleague, prominent Lithuanian collector and director of the World Insect Gallery, Juozas Dűda (Joniđkis, Lithuania).

Remarks. The species I. crispa has several distinct forms: a pale one ( Fig. 3 ), a dark one ( Fig. 2 ), and various intermediate forms. The typical darker individuals seem to occur mainly in India, Nepal, Myanmar, China (Sichuan, Henan, Yunnan), Thailand and Vietnam, while the paler ones have so far been recorded only in Shaanxi and Yunnan in China. Such variations of forms could be due to environmental factors influencing the expression of specific genes; however, it is impossible at this stage to give a conclusive verdict. The specimens of different forms show no differences in male genitalia. Moreover, the molecular distances of the fragment of the gene COI between pale and dark forms range from 0 to 4.9%, whereas the distances between specimens of dark forms from 1.3 to 4.9%. Despite of the maximum intraspecific divergence of 4.9%, we did not find any morphological difference and therefore, we accept these forms as belonging to the same taxon. Further investigation is needed when more material or information is available.

Figures

FIGURES 1–15. Dorsal view of Limacodidae adults: 1—Iragoides dudai sp. nov., holotype ♂ (WIGJ); 2—I. crispa, dark form, ♂, Myanmar (Chin State), Witt-limac 200 (MWM/ZSM); 3—ditto, pale form, ♂, China (Yunnan), Witt-limac 197 (MWM/ ZSM); 4—ditto, dark form, ♀, N. Vietnam (MWM/ZSM); 5—I. elongata, ♂, N. Vietnam (MWM/ZSM); 6—Sansarea alenae sp. nov., holotype ♂ (WIGJ); 7—Euphlyctina butvilai sp. nov., holotype ♂ (ZFMK); 8—E. butvilai sp. nov., ♂, paratype, China (Yunnan) (CASV); 9—E. phaeopasta, ♂, India (Darjeeling) (MfN); 10—Narosoideus witti sp. nov., holotype ♂ (MWM/ZSM); 11—N. flavidorsalis, ♂, Russia (Primorye) (MWM/ZSM); 12—N. morion, ♂, N. Vietnam (MWM/ZSM); 13—Griseothosea mousta sp. nov., holotype ♂ (MWM/ZSM); 14—G. fasciata, ♂, Nepal (Dhaulagiri Himal) (MWM/ZSM); 15—G. cruda, ♂, Malaysia (Sabah) (MWM/ZSM).

FIGURES 16–21. Male terminalia of Iragoides spp., Euphlyctina spp. and Sansarea spp. (genitalia in ventral view, aedeagus detached in lateral view, sternite VIII (only for Sansarea spp.): 16—Iragoides dudai sp. nov., holotype, the apical spine on the aedeagus is shown by arrow (genital slide CAS-20-06, WIGJ); 17—I. crispa, India (KalimpongAlgarah), the apical spine on the aedeagus is shown by arrow (genital slide 14178, MWM/ZSM); 18—Euphlyctina butvilai sp. nov., holotype (genital slide 10- 41, ZFMK); 19—E. phaeopasta, India (Darjeeling) (genital slide SAV-08-43, MfN); 20—Sansarea alenae sp. nov., holotype, papilla-shaped medial process of gnathos is shown by arrow, enlarged medial part of gnathos is shown in upper left side (genital slide CAS-20-03, WIGJ); 21—S. circulifera, China (Sichuan) (genital slide 17718, MWM/ZSM).

FIGURES 33–35. Biotopes: 33—China, W. Sichuan, road Yaan/Kangding, Erlang Shan Mt., biotope of Iragoides dudai sp. nov., photo by R. Butvila; 34, 35—Nu Jiang valley, biotope of Sansarea alenae sp. nov. and Euphlyctina butvilai sp. nov., photo by R. Butvila.