Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1867

Santos, Wildio Ikaro Da Graça, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins, 2023, A review of the South American metalmark genus Alesa Doubleday, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae: Eurybiini) with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5284 (1), pp. 77-120 : 114-117

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5284.1.3

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7334FB57-41A0-47CA-BCBF-FA108B13CEC1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7930849

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FB5F61-FF94-FFF5-FF36-FDBC0D88F8CE

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1867
status

 

Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1867 View in CoL

Figs 37–38 View FIGURES 30–39 , 46–47 View FIGURES 40–47 , 51, 55 View FIGURES 48–55 , 59 View FIGURES 56–60 , 70 View FIGURES 67–70 , 76 View FIGURES 71–76 , 81 View FIGURES 77–81 , 96 View FIGURES 96

Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1868 View in CoL . Jour. Linn. Soc. 9: 372, 415; Ega, Upper Amazon [=Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil].—Herrich-Schäffer, 1868. Corr.-Blatt. zool.-min. Ver. Regensburg 22: 122.—Kirby, 1871. Syn. Cat. diurn. Lep., p. 287.—Mengel, 1905. Cat. Erycinidae , p. 55.—Stichel, 1915. Dtsch. ent. Ztschr. 1915: 695.— Callaghan & Lamas, 2004, Riodinidae View in CoL , p. 148, in Lamas (ed.). Checklist: Part 4A. Hesperioidea—Papilionoidea, in Heppner (ed.) Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera View in CoL 5A. — Hall & Ahrenholz, 2010. Trop. Lep. Res. 20 (1): 21.

Alesa amesis hemiurga View in CoL ; Stichel, 1910, in Wytsman. Gen. Ins. 112A, p. 81.— Seitz, 1916. Groβ-Schmett. Erde 5, p. 652.

Alesa View in CoL sp. n. aff. amesis View in CoL [misidentification]; Lamas et al., [1997]. Rev. per. Ent. 39: 66.

Diagnosis. Alesa hemiurga has a wing pattern similar to other members of the “ amesis group”. Males of A. hemiurga can be distinguished from males of A. amesis and A. mariae sp. nov. by the lack of the dark blue iridescence on the wings upper side, and by the irregular discal band on the hindwing underside, whereas they are distinguished from those of A. lipara by the presence of spots and bands present or observed by transparency on the wings upper side. Finally, males of A. hemiurga are distinguished from A. thelydrias by the presence of a purplish sheen on the wings upper side. Females of A. hemiurga are only tentatively identified (see comments section below), differing from females of A. amesis by the absence of dark blue iridescence on the center of the submarginal ocelli on the hindwing upper side, and by the yellowish discal band directed towards the costal margin and not to the ocellus in Rs–M 1 on both sides of the hindwing. There is no notable differences between the putative female of A. hemiurga and A. lipara , except by the smaller wing length of the former, 14,5–15mm.

Type material. Alesa hemiurga was described from an unstated number of specimens from “Ega”, upper Amazon (Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil). To avoid future uncertainty, a male syntype in NMHUK with the following labels is here designated lectotype of Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1868 : / Type H. T. / Type. A. hemiurga / Ega, U. Amazons. H. W. Bates. / ♁ / 300 / Alesa hemiurga, Bates. Godman-Salvin Coll. 1913 .-2. / BMNH (E) 1717340 /; female: / Type H. T. / Ega, U. Amazons. H. W. Bates. / ♀ / Type. A. hemiurga [verso of the same label:] ♁ Ega / Alesa hemiurga, Bates. Godman-Salvin Coll. 1913 .-2. / NHMUK 010242189 /, and the following labels will be added to the specimen: / LECTOTYPUS / Lectotypus Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1868 W. Santos, Dolibaina, Dias, O. Mielke & Casagrande des. 2021 /. Asyntype female also deposited at the NHMUK is here designated paralectotype and will be labeled accordingly.

Distribution. This species is only known from the western Amazon of Brazil (Acre and Amazonas) and Peru (Loreto), although this species is likely to be widespread in throughout the Amazon ( Fig. 96 View FIGURES 96 ).

Comments. Morphology characters support A. hemiurga as being closely relatedto A. lipara and A. thelydrias . As mentioned above, A. hemiurga is superficially more similar to A. lipara , which is also supported by the male genitalia. The intensity of the purplish sheen on the wings upper side of the males of these species varies in A. hemiurga , while the sheen is always evident in A. lipara , and absent in A. thelydrias . Alesa hemiurga was considered a subspecies of A. amesis by Stichel (1910) and Seitz (1916), but as a “form” (i.e. subspecies) of A. lipara by Stichel (1930). However, Callaghan & Lamas (2004), recognized A. hemiurga as a distinct species.

The female of A. hemiurga is probably very similar to the female of A. lipara . Three specimens are here recognized as the putative females of A. hemiurga , a paralectotype of the species and two specimens from Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil (see examined material). One of these three females come from the exact same locality, where males and putative females of A. hemiurga and male and female specimens of A. lipara were collected together, in the same collecting event. In accordance with the average size of males, the putative females of A. hemiurga are smaller than the females of A. lipara ; apart from their different sizes, females of A. hemiurga and A. lipara are superficially indistinguishable.

Males of A. hemiurga were collected in the Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Acre, Brazil, in a low elevation summit, in the same place where other species of the “ amesis group” were also collected, displaying typical hilltopping behavior in a shaded area, flying fast and resting on leaves of bushes or lianas, about one to one and a half meters above the ground, between 9:00–9:30h.

Examined material. PERU — Loreto: San Roque (W of Iquitos), 1 male, ex. coll. Le Moult ( MGCL *) . BRAZIL — Amazonas: Tefé ( Rio Solimıes ), IX.1930, 1 female, ex. coll. Le Moult ( MGCL *) , 4–6.XII.1987, 1 male, 1 female, O. Mielke & Casagrande leg., DZ 34.976*, DZ 35.266* ( DZUP) . Acre: Bujari (50 Km NW), 200m, 25.IX.2003, 1 male, Mielke & Casagrande leg., DZ 35.106* ( DZUP) . Mâncio Lima (Parque Nacional da Serra do Divisor, Porç „o Norte ), 450m, 7–10,13. X.2018, 2 males, O. Mielke, Casagrande, Dolibaina & Medeiros leg., DZ 44.441*, DZ 44.671* ( DZUP) . Rondônia: Cacaulândia ( Fazenda Rancho Grande ), 15.XI.1992, 1 male, G. T. Austin leg., ( MGCL) .

T

Tavera, Department of Geology and Geophysics

NHMUK

Natural History Museum, London

DZUP

Universidade Federal do Parana, Colecao de Entomologia Pe. Jesus Santiago Moure

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Riodinidae

Genus

Alesa

Loc

Alesa hemiurga Bates, 1867

Santos, Wildio Ikaro Da Graça, Dolibaina, Diego Rodrigo, Dias, Fernando Maia Silva, Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik & Casagrande, Mirna Martins 2023
2023
Loc

Alesa

Santos & Dolibaina & Dias & Mielke & Casagrande 2023
2023
Loc

Riodinidae

Grote 1895
1895
Loc

Alesa hemiurga

Bates 1868
1868
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