Scea bellona (Druce), 1906

Miller, James S, 2009, Generic Revision Of The Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) Part 2: Josiini, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2009 (321), pp. 675-1022 : 845

Scea bellona (Druce) , new combination Figure 349 ; plate 35

Tuina bellona Druce, 1906: 87 .

TYPE LOCALITY: Peru, Oroya Railway to Chichla, 12,200 ft.

TYPE: Syntype ♀, ‘‘84.72’’ ( BMNH).

DISCUSSION: Scea bellona and its apparent sister species, S. necyria (pl. 35), had previously been regarded as the only members of Cyanotricha ( Prout, 1918; Hering, 1925; Bryk, 1930), a genus here placed in synonymy with Scea . With this synonymy, Scea bellona (Druce) becomes a new combination.

Scea bellona is considerably larger than S. necyria . It also differs in showing an additional orange basal dash at the FW base, a second, small orange dash beyond the fork of M 1 and Rs 1 –Rs 4, and in some bellona examples, a small orange spot beyond the fork of M 3 +CuA 1. Scea bellona , endemic to the Andes of Peru, has a more limited distribution than S. necyria , which occurs from Colombia south to Peru. Furthermore, the species has been recorded at even higher altitudes: a series of two males and two females was collected by O. Karsholt (ZMC) at Pueblo Quichas, Dept. Lima, at an altitude of 4000 meters (February 1987). Most specimens of bellona have been collected between 2500 and 3000 meters.

DISTRIBUTION: Peru (BMNH, CUIC, FML, LACM, MNHN, MPM, VOB, ZMC, ZMH).

DISSECTED: ³, Peru, San Mateo, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-319 ) ; ♀, Peru, Lima- Chanchamayo, leg. A.M. Moss, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-320 ) .

Figures

Fig. 349. Genitalia of Scea bellona (³ JSM-309, ♀ JSM-310). A, ³ genitalia; B, aedeagus; C, ♀ genitalia; D, ³ Tg8; E, ³ St8.