Belciades niveola (Motschulsky, 1876)

Behounek, Gottfried, Han, Hui-Lin & Kononenko, Vladimir, 2011, A review of the genus Belciades Kozhanchikov, 1950 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Pantheinae), with descriptions of two new species from China and Thailand. Revision of Pantheinae, contribution II, Zootaxa 3070, pp. 40-50 : 41-42

Belciades niveola (Motschulsky, 1876)

( Figs. 1, 2 , 17 , 23 , 24)

Habrostola niveola Motschulsky, 1866 , Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes Moscou 39 (1): 195 (Type-localty: Japan).

Synonymy: Pandesma virens Butler, 1881 , Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1881: 192 (Typelocalty: Japan).

ота virens japyx Staudinger, 1892, in Romanoff N. M. (ed), Mémoires sur les Lépidoptéres 6: 402, pl. 7: 1 (Type-localty: Amur).

References. ота niveola: Staudinger, 1901: 130 ; Belciana virens: Warren, 1909: 368 , pl. 67, h; Draudt, 1950: 163; Chen, 1982: 365, pl. 111: 2620; Belciades virens: Inoue and Sugi, 1958: 433 ; Belciades niveola: Kozhanchikov, 1950: 444 , figs 228, 229; Sugi, 1982, 1: 672, 2: 345, pl. 165: 3; Kononenko, 1990: 13; 1997: 106, figs 5, 6, 15, 21; 2010: 179, pl. 22:6, pl. 110:1; pl. 181:4; Kononenko, Ahn & Ronkay, 1998: 181:464; Chen, 1999: 74; Kononenko & Han: 2008: pl. 82:1, pl. 231:6.

Material Examined. 75 specimens from Russian Far East, China and Korea.

Diagnosis. Adult ( Figs. 1, 2 ). Wing expanse 36–41 mm, forewing length 17–21 mm; labial palps long, 3rd segment almost equal to the 2nd in length; patagia brownish, bordered with white; tegulae brownish mixed with pale green; thorax with two tufts of erected scales. abdomen with three tufts. Ground color of forewing pale green with grey suffusion, green color more prominent in costal area; basal streak indistinct, fused to a subbasal brown band; antemedial line whitish, bordered with black, with tooth-like extension basally; medial field pale green with intensive grey suffusion; dorsal margin of forewing with more intensive grey suffusion; orbicular as small whitish spot; reniform as vertical black streak, bordered with white; postmedial line double, bordered inside with black dentate line, with a few whitish spots in medial field; subterminal field wide, brown or pale brown, with more intensive subapical patch bordered inside with black shade and below with black streak; subterminal line greenish or pale yellowish; terminal line a series of black triangular dots. Hindwing pale yellowish grey with a traceable discal spot, a medial line and a dark diffused terminal band. In male genitalia ( Fig. 17 ) uncus moderate, relatively wide, pointed at tip; juxta vertically elongate, narrow, widened at base; valva with a distinct neck beyond end of sacculus; sacculus lobe narrow, with straight, long, pointed apical extension, reaching the basal 2/3 of valva; harpe reduced, small, ampulla-like; valva with some broader elongated cucullus covered with strong setae; aedeagus relatively long, more than 2/3 length of valva; ventral and lateral lobes of carina with two short spines on each; vesica tubular, curved, armed basally with a group of 15–18 spinulate cornuti, two isolated spines on a small diverticulum, and apically with a large spinulate cornutus with wide base. In female genitalia ( Fig. 23 ) ovipositor short, papillae anales weakly sclerotised, small; apophyses anterior, short, apophyses posterior twice the length of apophyses anterior; ostium cleft; antrum elongated, oval, well sclerotised and armed with characteristically shaped antevaginal plate, which is basally wide, elongated and apically bifurcate; the margin of eighth sternite forms two dentate plates connected with antrum; ductus bursae relatively short, membranous; bursa, some thickened and ribbed near conjunction with ductus bursae; ductus seminalis falling to caudal part of bursa.

Distribution and biology. Russian Far East, China, Korea, Japan.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Belciades spp., imagines. 1, 2 – B. niveola (1 – Russian Far East, 2 – Korea); 3, 4 – B. koenigi, China (3 – holotype), 5, 6 – B. hoenei, China, (5 – holotype, 6 – paratype); 7, 8 – B. sugii (7 – Thailand, 8 – China).

FIGURES 17 – 20. Belciades spp., male genitalia. 17 – B. niveola, Russian Far East, genit. prep. 1641 ZFMK; 18 – B. koenigi, paratype, China, genit. prep. 1641 ZFMK; 19 – B. hoenei, paratype, genit. prep. 1639 ZFMK; 20 – B. sugii, Thailand, genit. prep. 7277 GB.

FIGURES 21 – 26. Belciades spp., male and female genitalia. 21 – B. cyana, male genitalia, paratype, China, HHL- 1964 - 1; 22 – B. cyanobrunnea, male genitalia, holotype, Thailand, genit. prep. 7410 GB; 23 – B. niveola female genitalia, Russian Far East, genit. prep. 1641 ZFMK; 24 – B. koenigi female genitalia 1160 ZFMK; 25 – B. hoenei female genitalia, genit. prep. 1652 ZFMK; 26 – B. cyanobrunnea, paratype, female genitalia, China, Jianxi / Fujian, 7408 GB.