Nepyrophleps haematochrodes (Le Cerf, 1912), comb., 2021

Gorbunov, O. G., 2021, A new genus of the tribe Osminiini (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) from the Oriental Region, Far Eastern Entomologist 439, pp. 1-13 : 8-12

Nepyrophleps haematochrodes (Le Cerf, 1912), comb. n.

Figs 4 , 8–21

Aschistophleps haematochrodes Le Cerf, 1912: 54, fig. 1 [Holotype ♂ (not ♀!), “Tonkin: Su-

Yut, sur la rivière Noire, VII. 1911 ” (= Vietnam: Hòa Bình Province, somewhere on the banks of the Song Da River); deposition unknown but not in Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France].

Aschistophleps haematochrodes: Gorbunov & Arita, 1995: 83 ; Skowron Volponi & Volponi,

2017: 129; Kallies & Štolc, 2018: 597; Pühringer & Kallies, 2021.

Heterosphecia haematochrodes: Hampson, 1919: 53 ; Dalla Torre & Strand, 1925: 4; Gaede,

1933: 778; Heppner & Duckworth, 1981: 43.

Pyrophleps haematochrodes: Arita & Gorbunov, 2000: 65 , 67, 70, 72; Pühringer & Kallies

2004: 14; Xu et al., 2015: 149, 151; Skowron Volponi & Volponi, 2017: 134, 137.

MATERIAL. Totally 67 ♂♂ ( Figs 9–20 ). Laos: Khammouang Province , Ban

Khounkham (Nahin), 18˚13΄N, 104˚31΄E, 200 m, 01-02. V 2002, 1 ♂, V. Tuzov leg.; same locality, 16.IV 2005, 5 ♂♂ , O. Gorbunov leg.; same locality, 17.IV

2005, 1 ♂, O. Gorbunov leg. ( Sesiidae pictures No 0839-0840–2014); same locality, 18.IV 2005, 2 ♂♂, O. Gorbunov leg. ( Sesiidae pictures No 0841-0842–

2014); same locality, 19.IV 2005, 6 ♂♂, O. Gorbunov leg. ( Sesiidae pictures No

0175-0176–2021); same locality, 20.IV 2005, 2 ♂♂ , O. Gorbunov leg.; same locality, 22.IV 2005, 2 ♂♂ , O. Gorbunov leg.; same locality, 23.IV 2005, 1 ♂ , O.

Gorbunov leg.; same locality, 24.IV 2005, 8 ♂♂, O. Gorbunov leg. (genitalia preparation No OG–064-2018); same locality, 25.IV 2005, 23 ♂♂, O. Gorbunov leg. ( Sesiidae pictures No 0169-0174–2021); same locality, 26.IV 2005, 1 ♂, O.

Gorbunov leg.; same locality, 27.IV 2005, 8 ♂♂, O. Gorbunov leg. ( Sesiidae pictures No 0161-0168–2021); same locality, 28.IV 2005, 7 ♂♂, O. Gorbunov leg.

( Sesiidae pictures No 0151-0160–2021).

REDESCRIPTION. Male ( Figs 9, 10 ). Alar expanse 14.4 mm; body length 8.8

mm; forewing 6.6 mm; antenna 4.6 mm.

Head with antenna dorsally black dark violet tint, ventrally ochreous but densely covered with thin orange scales with golden sheen masking background colouration;

scapus black with dark violet sheen; frons dark brown to black with bright greenishviolet sheen; labial palpus white in basal half and brick-red mixed with black in distal half; vertex black with greenish-bronze sheen; occipital fringe laterally white,

dorsally mixed with black and brick-red hair-like scales.

Thorax with patagia black with greenish-violet sheen and a few orange scales anteriorly; tegula black with dark violet sheen densely covered with dark orange scales masking background colouration; meso- and methorax black with dark greenish-violet sheen and a tuft of white hair-like scales on metathorax laterally;

thorax laterally dark grey-brown with greenish-violet sheen and a narrow white stripe at distal margin of mesomeron; posteriorly both metepimeron and metameron dark grey-brown with greenish sheen densely covered with white hair-like scales.

Legs with neck plate white with golden hue; fore coxa white with golden hue and a short and narrow black stripe with bronze-violet sheen externally at base; fore femur black with dark violet sheen; fore tibia black with bright violet sheen and a tuft of brick-red elongated scales at posterior margin; fore basal tarsomere dorsally black with blue-violet sheen, ventrally white with a few yellowish scales with golden hue distally, remaining tarsomeres dorsally black with violet sheen and a few pale orange scales basally, ventrally yellowish with golden hue; mid coxa white with golden hue; mid femur black with blue-violet sheen; mid tibia black with dark blueviolet sheen and with a spot of elongated brick-red scales exterior-medially; spurs externally dark brown with bronze-violet sheen, internally white; basal mid tarsomere dark brown to black with purple sheen, a broad white ring basally and a tuft of elongated white scales interior-basally; remaining tarsomeres dark brown to black with dark purple sheen, with a narrow pale orange to pale yellow ring basally and with a few pale yellow scales with electric-blue sheen dorso-basally; hind coxa white with golden hue; hind femur black with blue-violet sheen; hind tibia in basal half dark brown to black with greenish-purple sheen, proximal half brick-red with a narrow white ring at base of mid spurs, with a small black spot with dark purple sheen dorso-

distally and with a small spot of black scales with strong electric greenish-blue sheen exterior-distally; both interior spurs dark brown with bronze-violet sheen, exterior ones white; hind tarsus brick-red, dorsally narrowly black with dark greenish-purple sheen, distally on each tarsomere narrowly ringed with black dark greenish-purple sheen, and with a narrow white ring basally on basal tarsomere. Forewing dorsally costal and anal margins, CuA-stem, discal spot, veins within external transparent area and apical area dark brown to black with dark purple sheen; basally with two groups of individual brick-red scales both at costal and anal margins; discal spot broad; ventrally costal and margins and CuA-stem ochreous with an admixture of brick-red scales distally; discal spot and surface between veins R 1 –R 3+4 brick-red with a few dark brown scales with bronze sheen on discal spot basally; veins within external transparent area and apical area dark brown to black with bronze-violet sheen; transparent areas well-developed, anterior transparent area large; posterior transparent area reaching the middle of discal spot; external transparent area extremely large, divided into six cells between veins R 3+4 –CuA 2, cells between veins R 3+4 –CuA 1 divided by a scaled stripe running from apical area through most of the cell; apical area narrow, about as broad as cilia; cilia dark brown to black with dark purple sheen. Hindwing transparent; dorsally veins, discal spot and outer margin dark brown to black with dark purple sheen; ventrally veins, discal spot and outer margin dark brown to black with bronze-violet sheen with an admixture of brick-red scales on costal margin, discal spot, veins CuA 1 and CuP, and outer margin anally; discal spot broad; surface between veins CuA 1 and CuA 2 opaque in basal half; outer margin narrow but with a distinct cuneiform projection between veins CuP and 1A; cilia dark brown to black with dark purple sheen.

Abdomen dorsally black with dark purple sheen; tergites 2–7 each densely covered with brick-red scales masking background colouration; distal row of scales on tergites 2–7 with a strong silvery hue; ventrally sternite 1+2 white with golden hue; remaining sternites dark brown to black with dark bronze sheen and a broad white stripe with golden hue distally; anal tuft nearly undeveloped.

Male genitalia (genital preparation No OG–064-2018) ( Figs 21, 22 ). Tegumen-

uncus complex narrow laterally, but broad ventrally; uncus with a semi-oval plate of long hair-like setae lateral-apically, covering tuba analis like a collar; gnathos narrow, long, distinctly protruding caudally; valva gradually widens towards the center, and then narrows rather sharply towards the apex, making distal half spearshaped, at margins broadly covered with short and very thin hair-like setae at margins, with a sparse raw of long, strong but light setae at sacculus; saccus short but broad, about as long as vinculum, straight basally; aedeagus relatively long,

about 1.5 times as long as valva; vesica with numerous, minute, granular cornuti.

Female. Unknown.

Individual variability ( Figs 9–20 ). This species is nearly invariable in details of the coloration of various parts of the body, but old and not so fresh specimens are darker because missing the brightly coloured scales. Transparent areas of the forewing are practically invariable, but slightly varying the number of scales between veins CuA 1 and CuA 2 basally and CuP and 1A distally on hindwing. However, it is rather variable in individual size: alar expanse 10.2–16.0 mm; body length 5.3–8.9

mm; forewing 4.2–7.1 mm; antenna 3.1–4.9 mm.

21 – ventral view; 22 – aedeagus. Scale bar 05.mm.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES. This species is clearly distinguishable from N.

cucphuonganae and N. bicella by more developed anterior and posterior transparent areas of the forewing and by the almost completely transparent hindwing (compare

Figs 9–20 with fig. 6 in Arita, Gorbunov, 2000 , fig. 1 in Xu et al., 2015 and fig. 2 in

Kallies & Štolc, 2018). The genitalia of these species are practically non-diagnostic

(compare Figs 21, 22 and fig. 17 in Arita, Gorbunov, 2000 and fig. 2 in Xu et al.,

2015).

BIONOMICS. The larval host plant and its biology are unknown. The specimens were collected in April, early May and July (the holotype). All specimens from Laos were found among wasps and bees on wet soil near the drying Nam Sanam stream .

All of them were collected by a butterfly net.

HABITAT. In Laos, this species inhabits a primary, monsoon, semi-deciduous,

lowland, tropical forest with Dipterocarpus alatus Roxb. ex G.Don , Hopea odorata

Roxb., H. ferrea Laness. (Dipterocarpaceae) , Lagerstroemia cochinchinensis Pierre ex Laness. (Lythraceae) , Afzelia xylocarpa (Kurz) Craib (Fabaceae) and Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. ( Apocynaceae ) as the most dominant species.

DISTRIBUTION. This species is known to occur only from Laos (Khammouang

Province) (this is the first record for the country) and North Vietnam (Hòa Bình

Province).

Figures

Figs 1–4. Labial palpus of Osminiini. 1 – Pyrophleps nigripennis Arita et O. Gorbunov,

Figs 5–8. Hind leg tuft of Osminiini. 5 – Pyrophleps nigripennis Arita et O. Gorbunov,

Figs 9–14. Variability of males of Nepyrophleps haematochrodes (Le Cerf, 1912), comb.

Figs 15–20. Variability of males of Nepyrophleps haematochrodes (Le Cerf, 1912),

Figs 21–22. Male genitalia of Nepyrophleps haematochrodes (Le Cerf, 1912), comb. n.