Jamides pseudosias (Rothschild, 1915)

Mueller, Chris J., 2016, A stunning new species of Jamides Huebner, 1819 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae), with notes on sympatric congeners from the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, ZooKeys 571, pp. 113-131 : 119

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Lycaenidae

Jamides pseudosias (Rothschild, 1915) Figs 10-15, 49, 54

Lampides pseudosias : Rothschild (1915: 138); TL: Misol [Misool].

Remarks.

In the Bismarcks Jamides pseudosias was known only from one pair taken at an unspecified locality in New Ireland by A. F. Eichhorn in November 1923, which are held in the NHM (Figs 13, 14). A female taken at the type locality of Jamides vasilia is also figured (Fig. 15), representing the first record from New Britain.

Jamides pseudosias is readily distinguished from its congeners by its long hindwing tail, which is at least 1.5 times that of related species in New Guinea and by the rich blue colour of the male upperside. The forewings of the male are narrower and the apex more rounded than in related species. The forewing underside median bar and postmedian band are continuous across vein 3, though slightly oblique, giving the band a curved appearance. Note that Parsons (1998) illustrates a male of this species as that of Jamides cyta (as J. ‘cytus’; see under Jamides cyta in this work).