Chesiadini Pierce, 1914

Viidalepp, Jaan, 2011, A morphological review of tribes in Larentiinae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), Zootaxa 3136, pp. 1-44 : 11-12

Tribe Chesiadini Pierce, 1914

( Figs 31–37 )

Pierce (1914), while discussing characters of five genera, found female genitalia of Carsia Hübner and Aplocera similar to each other and substantially deviating from those of other larentiines. Forbes (1948) treated Carsia among the tribe Lobophorini . The names Eucestiini Warren, 1894 and Chesiadini Stephens, 1850 refer to the same concept, but Eucestiini is based on a younger synonym ( Chesias Treitschke, 1825 = Eucestis Hübner , [1825]). Chesiadini Stephens, 1850 was proposed when Chesias was synonymized in the text to its younger synonym, Eucestis Hübner and therefore is not valid. Pierce (1914 was the first to use Chesias and Chesiadinae validly.

Chesiadini has apomorphic characters summarized as follows: strongly bulbed fore femora; short, flat and strong foretibia ending in two distal teeth (valid for subtribe Chesiadina, see below); remnants of gnathos fused to the posterior margin of tegumen (separate in some aplocerine genera, Fig. 47 ); tergite A8 rough and heavily sclerotized at its posterior margin (Chesiadina, Figs 31–32 ); venation of hind wing sexually dimorphic as vein An2 is absent from male but present in female; the contact of Sc with anterior margin of discal cell also varies between species and sexes (Aplocerina, see below); fringe of wings long and relatively strong; (Cheriadina) costal basal corners prolonged and produced; valval ornamentation usually medial and costal in Chesiadina, while costal, saccular and medial in Aplocetrina; bursa copulatrix generally scobinate, signa simple or petaloid (Chesiadina).

Here it is obvious that the tribe is to be divided into two groups of taxa as subtribes Chesiadina and Aplocerina, subtribe nov. ( Figs 38–45 ). The aplocerine genera Aplocera , and Carsia possess following apomorphic characters of its own: foretibia slender with a single, external-apical dentiform projection; male genital armature large ( Figs 38, 39, 40, 43 ), or medium sized (Figs 41,42); valva with dorsal and saccular ornamentations present, often long ( Figs 38–40 ); bursa copulatrix membranous, globular, without any signa ( Fig. 45 ); ductus bursae heavily chitinized, tubular, ending in bursa in a pair of leaf-like appendages ( Fig. 45 ); the last abdominal segment in female is completely fused into a cone ( Fig. 45 ), while separated by thinner pleurites in Chesiadina.

Distribution of the Chesiadina: Old-Mediterranean. Afrotropical, (Neotropical, Nearctic). Distribution of the Aplocerina, subtribe nov. Palaearctic (penetrating as antropochorous in Australia and America).

Figures

FIGURES 31 – 37, Male and female genitalia and posterior segments of abdomen of Chesiadini. 31, Posterior abdominal segments of Lithostege obliquata Urbahnwith a supporting buckle (Turkmenistan); 32, tergite A 8 of Lithostege farinata (Hufnagel) with posterior margin sclerotized (Ukraine); 33, male genitalia and aedeagus of Lithostege amoenata Christoph (Tadjikistan); 34, male genitalia of Lithostege flavicornata (Zeller) (Azerbaijan); 35, fenale genitalia of Lithostege turkmenica Tsvetajev (Turkmenistan); 36, female genitalia of Lithostege hreblayi Rajaei & Viidalepp (Turkmenistan); 37, female genitalia of Lithostege flavicornata (Zeller) (Azerbaijan).

FIGURES 46 – 47, male genitalia and last abdominal sternites of Eudulini. 46, Eubaphe mendica (Walker) (U. S. A.); 47, Eudulophasia invaria (Walker) (Fr. Guiana).

FIGURES 38 – 45, male and female genitalia of Aplocerina. 38, Male genitalia of Aplocera plagiata (Linnaeus); 39, male genitalia of Aplocera praeformata (Hübner); 40, male genitalia of Docirava fulgurata (Guenée) (Tibet); 41, male genitalia of Carsia lythoxylata (Hübner) (Armenia); 42, male genitalia of Aplocera mundulata (Guenée) (Armenia); 43, male genitalia of Aplocera perelegans (Warren) (Kunashir I); 44, last abdominal segments of Aplocera mundulata (Guenée); 45, female genitalia of Aplocera plagiata (Linnaeus).