Josia megaera (Fabricius), 1787

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 : 829-831

Josia megaera (Fabricius) Figure 336I, 336J , 345 ; plates 33, 39L [EX]

Bombyx megaera Fabricius, 1787: 109 .

TYPE LOCALITY: ‘‘Habitat in America boreali, Dr. Grandidier’’.

TYPE: Not seen.

Josiodes fasciata Rothschild, 1912: 229 . TYPE LOCALITY: Venezuela, San Esteban.

TYPE: Holotype ♀, leg. S.M. Klages, Jun

1909 ( BMNH).

Josia fruhstorferi Prout, 1918: 422 .

TYPE LOCALITY: Brazil, Bahia, Brasilia.

TYPE: Syntype ³/ ♀, leg. Fruhstorfer ( BMNH).

Josia putata Hering, 1925: 526 .

TYPE LOCALITY: Brazil, Pará (³) ; Brazil, Obidos (♀) .

TYPE: Syntype ³/ ♀ ( ZMH).

DISCUSSION: The name Josia megaera (Fabricius) has been in use for over 200 years. The disposition of the type is not known, but according to my interpretation, the species occurs from northern South America south into Brazil. Material from northern Central America is properly identified as J. integra (see above). A male and a female at the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, bear labels indicating that they came from the Staudinger Collection, and were captured in Chiriquí, Panama (August 1886). Dissection of these (JSM-1810, 1811) confirms their identity as J. megaera . If the labels are accurate, these specimens represent the first known records of J. megaera for Central America.

I did not dissect the types of fasciata Rothschild , fruhstorferi Prout , or putata Hering to determine whether any of those are species distinct from J. megaera . For the time being I leave them as synonyms following Bryk (1930). A male and female from Bolivia show genitalia morphology (JSM-1707, 1708) indicating that they are distinct. Judging from the type localities of existing species-group names ( Venezuela and Brazil), this Bolivian material will need a new name. There is a strong possibility that the Megaera Group, once fully revised, will contain five species or more.

Previous analyses ( Miller, 1996; Miller, Brower and DeSalle, 1997) have suggested that Josia megaera , and thus the Megaera Group, are the plesiomorphic sister group to the rest of the Josiini . Larvae of J. megaera (pl. 39L) differ from other Josia caterpillars (pl. 39M–O) in exhibiting an orange-brown head, rather than a black and white one (see also Miller, 1996). Its host plant, Turnera odorata (pl. 41D) is also unusual. Other Josia ’s feed on Passiflora (table 6). Those earlier results conflict with the current hypothesis (fig. 283) based on a more diverse sample of Josiini , but using adult anatomy alone.

DISTRIBUTION: Brazil (AMNH, BMNH, CMNH, CUIC, OUMNH, USNM, ZMH); French Guiana (AMNH, CMNH, MNHN, OUMNH, USNM, ZMH); Guyana (BMNH); Venezuela (AMNH, BMNH, CAS, CMNH, IZA, LACM, MUSM, NMW, OUMNH, USNM, ZMH ); Panama (NMW); Bolivia (BMNH, MCZ, USNM).

DISSECTED: ³, French Guiana, Pk 57.5 on road to Coralie , 26 Apr 1994, leg. J.S. Miller, C. Snyder & L.D. Otero, reared from larva on Turnera odorata, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-706 ) ; ³, Venezuela, San Esteban Valley, Las Quiguas, Nov – Mar 1910, CMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-704 ) ; ³, Venezuela, San Esteban Valley , Las Quiguas, USNM (genitalia slide no. JSM-712 ) ; ³, Bolivia, Santiago de Chiquitos , Aug 1904, leg. J. Steinbach, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-1707 ) ; ³, Panama, Chiriquí, Aug 1886, Coll. Staudinger, NMW (genitalia slide no. JSM-1810 ) ; ♀, French Guiana, Pk 57.5 on road to Coralie , 26 Apr 1994, leg. J.S. Miller, C. Snyder & L.D. Otero, reared from larva on Turnera odorata, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-707 ) ; ♀, Guyana, Kutari Sources , Jan–Feb 1936, leg. G.A. Hudson, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-1401 ) ; ♀, Bolivia, Santiago de Chiquitos , Aug 1904, leg. J. Steinbach, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-1708 ) ; ♀, Panama, Chiriquí, Aug 1886, Coll. Staudinger, NMW (genitalia slide no. JSM-1811 ) .

The following have been removed from Josia :

abrupta Hübner to Ephialtias Hübner

( Abrupta Group)

ampliflava Warren to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group; as a synonym of striata Druce )

andosa Druce to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group)

angulosa Walker to Lyces Walker ( Angulosa

Group)

annulata Dognin to Lyces Walker ( Aurimutua

Group)

aperta Warren to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group; as a synonym of fornax Druce )

ariaca Druce to Lyces Walker ( Patula Group)

aurimutua Walker to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group)

banana Warren to Lyces Walker ( Angulosa

Group) brevifascia Prout to Phryganidia (as a synonym of naxa Druce ) bryce Walker to Ephialtias Hübner ( Bryce

Group) cercostis Walker to Phintia (as a synonym of podarce Walker ) coatepeca Schaus to Lyces Walker ( Angulosa

Group; as a synonym of ariaca Druce ) contricta Warren to Lyces Walker ( Angulosa

Group) consueta Walker to Ephialtias Hübner

( Abrupta Group) cruciata Butler to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group) discipuncta Hering to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group; as a synonym of striata Druce ) dorsivitta Walker to Ephialtias Hübner (as a synonym of abrupta Hübner ) draconis to Ephialtias Hübner ( Bryce Group) ena Boisduval to Lyces Walker ( Angulosa

Group) enoides Boisduval to Lyces ( Angulosa Group) esoterica Prout to Proutiella , new genus eterusialis Walker to Lyces Walker ( Eterusialis Group) infans Walker to Proutiella , new genus flavissima Walker to Lyces Walker ( Eterusialis Group) fluonia Druce to Lyces Walker ( Aurimutua

Group) fornax Druce to Lyces Walker ( Patula Group) gopala Dognin to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group) gephyra Hering to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group; as a synonym of consepta Dognin ) ignorata Hering to Proutiella , new genus ilaire Druce to Proutiella , new genus jordani Hering to Proutiella , new genus latifascia Prout to Proutiella , new genus latistriga Hering to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group) longistria Warren to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group) morena Warren to Lyces Walker ( Angulosa

Group; as a synonym of angulosa Walker ) patula Walker to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group) podarce Walker to Phintia Walker repetita Warren to Proutiella , new genus rosea Hering to Ephialtias Hübner (as a synonym of bryce Walker ) simplex Walker to Proutiella , new genus striata Druce to Lyces Walker ( Patula Group) tamara Hering to Lyces Walker ( Patula

Group) tegyra Druce to Proutiella , new genus tessmani Hering to Proutiella , new genus (as a synonym of tegyra Druce )

vittula Hübner to Proutiella , new genus

Figures

Fig. 336. Morphology of Josia. A, J. fustula ³ head, lateral view; B, J. fustula ³ head, lateral view; C, J. ligula ³ head, lateral view; D, J. ligula ³ head, frontal view; E, J. ligula ³ head, posterior view; F, J. mononeura ³ wings; G, J. frigida ♀ wings; H, J. ligula ³ wings; I, J. megaera ³ tegula; J, J. megaera ³ labial palpus (illustration by J.S. Miller).

Fig. 345. Genitalia of Josia megaera (³ JSM-707, ♀ JSM-712). A, ³ genitalia; B, ³ St8; C, aedeagus; D, ³ Tg8; E, ♀ genitalia (illustration by J.S. Miller).