Philaethria wernickei (Röber, 1906), Rober, 1906

Constantino, Luis Miguel & Salazar, Julian A., 2010, A review of the Philaethria dido species complex (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) and description of three new sibling species from Colombia and Venezuela, Zootaxa 2720, pp. 1-27 : 10-11

Philaethria wernickei (Röber, 1906)

( Fig. 10 )

Societas ent. 20: 177

= Metamorpha wernickei Röber, 1906

Type locality. Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Illustrated in D' Abrera, B. Butt. Neotrop. Reg., 2: 290 (1984) ( BMNH)

Diagnosis. Forewing length 45–47 mm in males and 47–49 mm in females. P. wernickei is easily separated from the other species of Philaethria by the dark brown inner postdiscal band and the bone white medial postdiscal band on the ventral surface of the hind wing which is as wide as the inner postdiscal band (very reduced in P. pygmalion ). HW submarginal cellular spots diffuse and continuous. Postmedial, medial and discal area on the ventral surface of both wings dark green in coloration (yellow-green in P. dido ). Postcellular spots on the hind wings large. Subapical spot on FW large and round. Haploid chromosome number: n=29 for material examined from E. Brazil (Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Macae, Sao Paulo, Campinas (Suoamalainen & Brown, 1984)

Male genitalia ( Fig. 35 ): As illustrated. Saccus short and straight, slightly curved at the end, vinculum stout, slightly curved and swollen, tegumen rounded distally without setae; uncus long, curved dorsally, tapering gradually to pointed tip; gnathos long and curved distally; valvae with a long basal hook curved forward, reaching the medial area of the uncus; valvae with a swollen arm with a round head armed with microspines; aedeagus long and straight, tapering gadually to pointed tip.

Distribution and habitat. P. wernickei occurs along the eastern coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte south into Uruguay and Northern Argentina. P.wernickei flies sympatrically with P. dido dido .

Host plants: Passiflora caerulea , P. elegans , P. mansoni , P. mucronata , P. rhamnifolia , P. sidaefolia , P. suberosa , P. actinia (Passifloraceae) (Brown & Mielke, 1972; Benson et al., 1976; Brown, 1992; Beccaloni et al., 2008) in Brazil. P. quadrangularis and P. caerulea in Uruguay (Biezanko et al., 1974).

Immature stages: According to Barao & Moreira (2010) egg yellow, 1.2 mm high and 1.3 mm in diameter, with 19 to 22 vertical and 10 horizontal ridges (P. d i d o has 22/12 ridges), laid singly on tendrils and stipules. Mature larva - body yellow-green with black markings on dorsum and sides; Scoli large and black (orange with black tips in P. dido ); head capsule yellowish brown (beige in P. d i d o and red in P. pygmalion ) and head scoli black. Pupa - mottled brown and gray covered with warts; abdomen and thorax have 3 keels. Pairs of golden spots are present on the prothorax and metathorax.

Material examined. BRAZIL: SAO PAULO: Campinas, K.S. Brown leg. ( KSB), Sao Miguel Arcanjo, K.S. Brown leg. ( KSB), Praia de Pereque, K.S. Brown leg. ( KSB), ( Suomalainen & Brown, 1984); Campinas, A. V. L.

Freitas leg. (UEC). RIO DE JANEIRO: Río de Janeiro, K. S. Brown leg, ( KSB), Macaé, K. S. Brown leg. ( KSB). 1 male, PARANA: Morretes, Alto da Serra, 850 m, 22-II-2001, G. Lamas leg. (MHNUSM), 1 female, Curitiba, 850 m, 1-II-1983, O. Mielke leg. (MHNUSM). SANTA CATARINA: Sao Beno do Sul, Rio Natal, 550m, 23-II-1980, G. La m a s leg. (MHNUSM). ESPIRITO SANTO: Linhares, K. S. Brown leg. ( KSB). MINAS GERAIS: Paracatu, K. S. Brown leg. ( KSB) ( Suomalainen & Brown, 1984). URUGUAY: CERRO LARGO: nr. Melo, 300 m, C. Arzua leg. ( MNKM). ARGENTINA: MISIONES: Rio Paraná, nr El Dorado, 250 m, C. Arzua leg. ( BMNH)

Figures

FIGURES 2 - 11. 2. P. dido dido 3 Rio Amazonas, Colombia, 3. P. dido chocoensis 3 Rio Anchicayá, W. Colombia, 4. P. dido dido 3 Bajo Rio Caura, Bolivar, Venezuela, 5. P. dido panamensis, ssp. nov., 3 Holotype. Pácora, Chiriquí, Panama, 6. P. diatonica 3 ACG Guanacaste, Costa Rica, 7. P. diatonica Ƥ Metates, Oaxaca, Mexico, 8. P. constantinoi 3 Chocó, W. Colombia, 9. P. constantinoi Ƥ Chocó, W. Colombia, 10. P. wernickei 3 S ao Paulo, Brazil, 11. P. pygmalion pygmalion 3 Araracuara, Amazonas, Colombia.

FIGURES 32 – 41. Male genitalia, with aedeagus removed in lateral view. 32. P. diatonica. 33. P. dido 34. P. constantinoi. 35. P. wernickei. 36. P. pygmalion. 37. P. neildi. 38. P. andrei. 39. P. o s t a r a. 40. P. browni. 41. P. romeroi. Scale line 1 mm.