Collita serva ( Walker, 1854 ) Volynkin & Černý & Huang & Hu, 2023

Volynkin, Anton V., Černý, Karel, Huang, Si-Yao & Hu, Hua-Lin, 2023, Taxonomic review of the Oriental genus Gandhara Moore with descriptions of four new species (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini), Zootaxa 5374 (3), pp. 390-408 : 400

Collita serva ( Walker, 1854) , comb. n.

( Figs 21–23 , 47, 48, 50 )

Lithosia serva Walker, 1854 , List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 2: 506 (Type locality: [ Nepal] “Nepaul”).

Type material examined. Lectotype (hereby designated) ( Fig. 21 ): female without abdomen, “ Nepal ” / “Hardwick | Bequest.” / “27. Lithosia serva .” / blue ring “ SYN- | TYPE ” label / QR-code label with unique ID “NHMUK010401818” ( NHMUK).

Additional material examined. NEPAL: 4 males, 3 females, valley of Tamea Kosi River , 1 km N of Dolakha, 1700m, 12.X.1995, L. Németh leg., gen. prep. No.: ZSM Arct. 2019-1098 (prepared by Volynkin) (MWM/ ZSM) ; 1 male, Mechi, Taplejung area, Tamur valley , 2 km N Sinwa, 1100m, 27°24’N 87°43’E, 23.X.1996, Gy.M. László & G. Ronkay leg., gen. prep. No.: ZSM Arct. 2019-1099 (prepared by Volynkin) (MWM/ ZSM) ; 78 specimens of both sexes, Mechi, Taplejung area, Tamur valley , 4 km N Dobhan, 800m, 27°22’N 87°40’E, 22.X.1996, Gy.M. László & G. Ronkay leg., gen. prep. No.: ZSM Arct. 2019-1121 (female) (prepared by Volynkin) (MWM/ ZSM) ; MYANMAR: 1 male, 3 females, 40 km N Myitkyina, Chanc Kand village , 235m, 23–24.IV.1996, Murzin & Sinyaev leg., gen. prep. No.: ZSM Arct. 2019-1096 (prepared by Volynkin) (male) (MWM/ ZSM) .

Note. The species was described from three specimens (cited as “a–c”) without their sex being specified ( Walker 1854). In the NHMUK, only a single damaged female syntype lacking the abdomen was located. Other syntypes are apparently lost or destroyed. In order to stabilise the nomenclature, the aforementioned syntype is hereby designated as the lectotype ( Fig. 21 ).

Diagnosis. The forewing length is 15.0–16.0 mm in males and 15.0–17.0 mm in females. The species is morphologically very similar to C. vietnamica ( Figs 24 , 49 ) recently described from a single male ( Dubatolov & Bucsek 2016), and differs from it only in the lack of the smaller subbasal cornuti in the phallus vesica. Taking into account the intraspecific variability in the size and number of cornuti in the genus (illustrated by Ignatyev & Witt (2007) and Dubatolov (2014)), it is possible that these two taxa are conspecific. However, to clarify this question, the examination of additional specimens from northern Indochina is necessary.

Distribution. Nepal ( Walker 1854) and northern Myanmar (Kachin State).

Figures

FIGURES 17–24. Gandhara (17–20) and Collita (21–24) spp.: adults. Depositories of the specimens: 17, 18, 22 and 23 in MWM/ZSM; 19 and 20 in NMNS (photos by S. Wu); 21 in NHMUK (©The Trustees of NHMUK); 24 in SZMN (photo by V.V. Dubatolov).

FIGURES 47–50. Collita spp.: male (47–49) and female (50) genitalia. Depositories of the specimens dissected: 47, 48 and 50 in MWM/ZSM; 49 in SZMN (photo by V.V. Dubatolov).