Buzyges benito ( Freeman, 1979 ) Austin & Warren, 2009

Austin, George T. & Warren, Andrew D., 2009, New looks at and for Onespa, Buzyges, and Librita (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae), with new combinations and descriptions of a new genus and six new species, Insecta Mundi 2009 (89), pp. 1-55 : 24-25

Buzyges benito ( Freeman, 1979) , new combination

( Fig. 29-32 , 69 , 81 )

Poanes benito Freeman, 1979 . Type locality: MEXICO: Jalisco; La Calera, 10 miles south of Cumbre de Autlan ; holotype male ( Fig. 29-30 ) at MGCL .

Description. Male ( Fig. 29-32 ) - mean forewing length = 14.6 mm (13.9-15.0 mm, n=8; from Mexico); forewing apex pointed, termen slightly convex; hindwing termen convex cephalad, slightly concave caudad before short tornal lobe; dorsum yellow-orange and very dark brown (nearly black); dorsal forewing with no stigma or brand; veins largely dark brown but most of M 3, CuA 1, CuA 2, and 2A orange where crossing orange macules; orange filling proximal 3/4 of costal cell and most of proximal 1/2 of cell Sc-R 1; apex distad of distal end of discal cell dark brown except for quadrate subapical macules in R 4 -R 5 (small) and R 5 -M 1 (overlapping entirely macule in R 4 -R 5 and about twice as large); orange filling discal cell except divided in proximal 2/3 by thin brown line; dark brown margin of even width to vein 2A; proximal 1/2 of anal cell sparsely overscaled with yellow-orange; distal edge of orange concave in each cell M 3 -CuA 1, CuA 1 -CuA 2, and CuA 2 -2A; fringe dark brown, tipped with gray.

Dorsal hindwing also orange and dark brown; costal cell grayish orange; wing overscaled with orange setiform scales from mid-discal cell caudad beyond vein 2A, nearly to termen along vein 2A; orange occurring in posterior discal cell at distal end, central 1/2 of Rs-M 1, proximal 3/4 of M 1 -M 3, proximal 1/2 of M 3 -CuA 1, proximal 1/2 of CuA 1 -CuA 2, and narrowly along proximal 1/2 of vein CuA 2 in CuA 2 -2A, all with distal edges concave and divided by dark brown veins; fringe pale yellow-orange cephalad, deeper yelloworange caudad of CuA 2.

Ventral forewing orange in costal and subcostal cells (latter overscaled with black), distal 1/2 of discal cell, and at apex distad of end of discal cell to vein M 3, then narrowing to vein CuA 2; veins at distal end of discal cell black; orange-brown grading into yellow-orange distad in discal cell, proximad in M 2 -M 3 and M 3 - CuA 1, and extending into proximal 1/2 of CuA 1 -CuA 2 and central 1/3 of CuA 2 -2A; remainder of wing black; fringe gray.

Ventral hindwing vaguely mottled yellow-orange and orange, palest beneath postmedial macules; posterior CuA 2 -2A and anterior 2A-3A black, sparsely overscaled with yellow-orange; small black macule in base of M

1

-M

3

near origin of M

1

; fringe yellow-orange.

Dorsal head greenish, tan margining eyes; palpi subquadrate, entirely yellow-orange, but grading to cream color proximad on venter, 3rd segment black, conical, slightly emergent beyond scaling of 2nd segment; antennae 54% of costal length, entirely black on dorsum, venter black checked with yelloworange, this enveloping entire segments distad, club 37% of length of shaft, black on dorsum with yellow overscaling proximad, yellow on venter, nudum red-brown, last 2 segments brown, 11 (n=7) or 12 (n=1) segments; dorsal thorax black, overscaled with greenish setiform scales centrally and orange laterally; ventral thorax black, overscaled with ochreous setiform scales, pectus ochreous; legs yellow-orange distad, red-brown proximad with long ochreous setiform scales, protibia smooth, short red-brown epiphysis extending distad to junction of tarsus, mesotibia spined, one pair of spurs, outer 1/2 length of inner, metatibia spined, two pairs of spurs, outer 2/3 length of inner; dorsal abdomen black, lateral surface with orange narrowing caudad, caudal end orange; ventral abdomen cream color grading to orange laterally.

Genitalia ( Fig. 69 , 81 ) - uncus short, not hooked caudad in lateral view, entire and narrowing to bluntly pointed caudal end in dorsal view; gnathos robust, well-separated from and shorter than uncus in lateral view, divided with arms slender, widely apart cephalad and approaching caudad in ventral view; tegumen moderately broad in lateral view, moderately broad in dorsal view and flaring cephalad, ventral arm combining with dorsal arm of saccus, this combined structure bent slightly ventrad of its middle; anterior arm of saccus moderately long and thin, straight, about length of uncus and dorsal portion of tegumen, broad caudad in ventral view, narrowing gradually to rounded cephalic end; valva simple, no differentiation between costa and ampulla, latter produced dorsally to small and pointed triangular process near juncture with harpe, harpe curved, narrowing, and produced caudad to another small, pointed triangular process, sacculus narrow, ventral edge of valva concave just cephalad of middle; aedeagus straight, stout, short, about 1.1 times length of valva, caudal end slightly expanded, blunt, triangular titillator on right side caudad; vesica with cornuti including a small lightly sclerotized and poorly defined flexible but not spinulose area, a heavily sclerotized thorn-like structure, and a heavily sclerotized and sharply pointed spike.

Female - unknown.

Specimens examined. MEXICO: Colima; Barranca de Agua , 25 October 1981, leg. S. H. Tobias (1 male, ADW #94-30; MZFC) ; MEXICO: Guerrero; El Faisanal Paraíso , 23 July 1982 (2 males; MAZA) ; Mpio. Atoyac, Nuevo Delhi , 1350-1450m, 2 October 1988, leg. Armando Luis-M. (1 male; MZFC) ; MEXICO: Jalisco; La Calera, 10 miles south of Cumbre de Autlán , July-August 1967, leg. P. Hubbell (holotype male; MGCL) ; MEXICO: Oaxaca; La Soledad-Buena Vista , 5000’, 6 May 1990, leg. J. Kemner (1 male; MGCL) ; MEXICO: Oaxaca; Sierra Madre del Sur, La Soledad-Buena Vista , 5000’, 16 April 1990, leg. J. Kemner (1 male, SRS #4468; MGCL) ; MEXICO: Oaxaca; Mpio. Candelaria Loxicha, La Soledad-Buenavista , 1470-1530 m, 15 o 58’32”N 96 o 31’54”W, 18 March 2007, leg. MZFC collectors (1 male; MZFC), same locality, 1 May 2008, leg. MZFC collectors (2 males; MZFC), same locality, 23 May 2008, leg. MZFC collectors (2 males; MZFC), same locality, 28 May 2003, leg. MZFC collectors (1 male; MZFC), same locality, 24 June 2008, leg. A. D. Warren (1 male; ADWC), same locality and date, leg. MZFC collectors (3 males; MZFC), same locality, 21 September 2007, leg. MZFC collectors (6 males; MZFC) ; same locality, 24 October 2008, leg. A. D. Warren (3 males; ADWC) ; same locality and date, leg. MZFC collectors (14 males; MZFC) ; same locality, 30 November 2008, leg. MZFC collectors (2 males; MZFC) ; MEXICO: Oaxaca ; Mpio. Pluma Hidalgo, 3 rd. Km W Pluma Hidalgo on road to Hwy. 175, 22 June 2008, leg. A. D. Warren (1 male; ADWC) ; La Pasionaria , 1500-1650 m, 15 o 56’09”N 96 o 25’08”W, 23 October 2008, leg. MZFC collectors (1 male; MZFC) ; MEXICO: Oaxaca; Ixtlan de Juárez , 7500’, 4 July 1991, leg. J. Kemner (1 male; ADWC) .

Distribution and phenology. We have examined specimens of B. benito only from the western Mexican states of Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, from cloud forest habitats in the Sierra Madre del Sur. De la Maza and de la Maza (1993) also reported the species from Chiapas, but we have not seen material from that state. In Oaxaca (Sierra Madre del Sur), B. benito flies most months of the year. Overall, records are concentrated from May to July and from September to November.

Biological notes. Buzyges benito is typically encountered as solitary males guarding perches (from 1.5 to 3 m above the ground) along roadsides, from 9:45 to 14:30 h, during sunny periods. Perching males are quite wary, and chase all other hesperiids from perching sites. Several grasses, including scattered Chusquea (Poaceae) , occur at habitats in Oaxaca, but the foodplants utilized by B. benito in these areas remain unknown. Despite repeated visits by the junior author and researchers from the MZFC to a known population of B. benito between La Soledad and Buenavista in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca, a site where males can almost always be encountered under favorable weather conditions, the female of the species remains unknown.

Discussion. Poanes benito , described from and apparently endemic to Mexico, was compared only with Poanes zabulon in its original description ( Freeman 1979). The species is actually more similar in pattern and genitalia to B. rolla . The dorsum of B. benito has narrower black margins than B. rolla , the orange area of the forewing is not crossed by darkened veins, and there is less black in the apical region of the forewing so that the orange of the discal area is continuous with the subapical macules. The venters of the two species are virtually identical. The genitalia of B. benito , while resembling those of B. rolla , differ in detail (compare Fig. 68 and 69 ). The species has been included within Poanes since its description (e.g., Mielke 2005b) despite Burns’ (1992a) contention that it belonged elsewhere. As noted for Buzyges rolla above, the genitalia of male P. benito (illustrated previously by Freeman 1979) indicate its placement in Buzyges and Buzyges benito is here proposed as a new combination.

Figures

Figure 19-36. Buzyges (full data in text; ds = dorsal surface, vs = ventral surface; scale bar = 10 mm). 19) B. idothea, holotype male, Costa Rica, ds; 20) same, vs; 21) B. idothea, male, Costa Rica, 10 March 2004, ds; 22) same, vs; 23) B. idothea, female, Costa Rica, 10 March 2004, ds; 24) same, vs; 25) B. rolla, male, Panama, 26 August 1976, ds; 26) same, vs; 27) B. rolla, female, Panama, 26 December 1969, ds; 28) same, vs; 29) B. benito, holotype male, Jalisco, Mexico, ds; 30) same, vs; 31) B. benito, male, Oaxaca, Mexico, 24 October 2008, ds; 32) same, vs; 33) B. mellanaformis, holotype male, Costa Rica, 13 June 2005, ds; 34) same, vs; 35) B. mellanaformis, paratype female, Costa Rica, 23 October 2006, ds; 36) same, vs.

Figure 67-70. Male genitalia of Buzyges (full data in text; shown are lateral view of uncus, gnathos, tegumen, and saccus; dorsal view of uncus and tegumen; ventral view of gnathos uncus; internal view of right valva; ventral view of saccus; ventral, dorsal, right lateral and/or left lateral views of aedeagus; scale bar = 1 mm). 67) B. idothea, Costa Rica (ADW #97-102); 68) B. rolla, Costa Rica (GTA #14055); 69) B. benito, Oaxaca, Mexico (SRS #4468); 70) B. mellanaformis, Costa Rica, paratype (GTA #14031).

Figure 75-86. Rigid cornuti of Onespa, Buzyges, Librita, and Neposa (full data in text; shown are lateral and dorsal views). 75) O. nubis, El Salvador (SRS #4803); 76) O. gala, Michoacán, Mexico (GTA #14065); 77) O. brockorum, Sonora, Mexico, paratype (SRS #1852); 78) O. nakamura, Costa Rica, holotype (GTA #14033); 79) B. idothea, Costa Rica (ADW #97-102); 80) B. rolla, Costa Rica (GTA #14055); 81) B. benito, Oaxaca, Mexico (SRS #4468); 82) B. mellanaformis, Costa Rica, paratype (GTA #14031); 83) L. librita, Veracruz, Mexico (GTA #14135); 84) N. heras, Guerrero, Mexico (ADW #97-112); 85) N. armandoi, Oaxaca, Mexico, holotype (GTA #14143); 86) N. isabelae, Guatemala, paratype (ADW #98-15).