Apha kantonensis Mell, [1930]

Zolotuhin, Vadim V., Pugaev, Sergey N. & Du, Tran Thieu, 2020, A review of Apha floralis species group (Lepidoptera: Eupterotidae), Acta Biologica Sibirica 6, pp. 611-635 : 611

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/abs.6.e59529
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:482EFF14-668B-4A2F-94C2-900541A2821E
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treatment provided by	Acta Biologica Sibirica by Pensoft
scientific name	Apha kantonensis Mell, [1930]
status

Treatment

Figs 9-12 View Figures 9–14

Apha kantonensis Mell, [1930], Deutsche entomologische Zeitschrift 1929 5: 428, fig. 43, figs 54; pl. 8: 9, 10; pl. 12: 2. TL: China, “Südkwangtung [= South Guangdong prov.], Lo fao shan". Holotype (by original designation): male ( ZMHU) [examined].

Material examined.

Holotype, ♂, China, Kwangtung , [Lo fao shan] ( ZMHU) . Paratypes, 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, [ China] [mostly unreadable because of Mell’s abbreviations or given by him in Chinese, some are pointed from Lo Fao], ex Raupe, ex coll. R. Mell ( ZMHU) ; 3 ♂♂, China, Hong Kong, 100 m, Sekkong , Jan. 1978, leg. Allen (MWM) ; ♂, China, Hongkong, New Territories, leg. Uk Tau , 27.IV.1998 (SMFL); 2 ♂♂, China, Hongkong, New Territories, leg. Uk Tau , 21.XI. 1998 (SMFL); ♂, N. Vietnam, Prov. Ninh Binh, Nho Quan Distr., Bong - Cuc Phuong vill., 20°21'N, 105°36'E, 6-9.X. 2008, 360 m, leg. Zolotuhin (MWM) GoogleMaps ; ♂, Tonkin [Northern Vietnam], An Chau , coll. L. & J. de Joannis ( MNHN) ; ♂, Central Vietnam, Quang Nam Prov., Phuoc Son Distr., Phuos My Comm. , Deo Lo Xo , 17.VII 2009, Du Thieu Tran leg. (coll. S. Pugaev) ; 2 ♂♂, Cambodia, Kampot Prov., Bokor N.P., Hill Station , 1.025 m, 10°37,37'N, 104°01,33'E, 19-21.I.2006, leg. G. Csorba & G. Ronkay GoogleMaps (MWM).

Description.

Male (Figs 9 View Figures 9–14 , 10 View Figures 9–14 ; Figs 52 View Figures 50–57 , 53 View Figures 50–57 ). Fore wing length 23-29 mm. Costal margin slightly curved, wing apex rounded or weakly acute. There is a dark spot in the yellow basal area of the fore wing. Basal fascia is dentate, inner margin distinct, vague distally. Discal dot is well expressed, round, brown or black. Antemedial fascia is crenulate, thick, with two such duplicating lines on the outer margin. Postmedial fascia is yellow, not well expressed, but with conspicuous inner dark-brown or black shadow which terminates at the wing apex, anterially to the apical patch. The apical patch is yellow, with an enclosed large ovoid dark spot. Submarginal fascia brown, dentate, hardly visible, but widened into well expressed dots on the veins. In the hind wing, the shadow of the postmedial fascia is terracotta, straight, with a slight apical curve, while the yellow postmedial fascia is not well expressed. Medial field is uniformly coloured citron-yellow. Moths emerging in the dry summer season are smaller than those of the wet winter season.

Male genitalia (Figs 24 View Figures 24–27 , 25 View Figures 24–27 ). Bases of uncus lobes situated tightly against each other, their lobes are spatulate. In the valva, the costa is straight, the sacculus margin curved, the apex scoop-shaped and bearing 2 - 3 spurs. Saccus is not expressed. Aedeagus short, coecum almost the same length of the tube of the aedeagus. Vesica cone-shaped and angled at which point the cornuti change direction forming a bare membranous, circular zone lacking cornuti. Cornuti are of equal length.

Female (Figs 11 View Figures 9–14 , 12 View Figures 9–14 ). Fore wing length 30-35 mm. Apart from the much wider wings, the female is markedly different to the male in the colour of the outer margins which are not yellow but light brown. The postmedial fascia on the fore wing is yellow and falls short of the apex by about 3 mm.

Female genitalia (Fig. 30 View Figures 28–30 ). Papillae anales are bean-shaped. Anterior apophyses are more slender and longer than the posterior. The postvaginal plate is wide with two rounded, lateral lobes in its upper half. The antevaginal plate has a deep, rounded, medial incision, which divides the plate into two lobes, each lobe is elongated, curved, strongly widened distally to form a fishtail shape and with rounded apical corners. Antrum is wide and short, slightly sclerotized. Ductus is wide at antrum and distinctly narrowed at the teardrop-shaped corpus bursae which has a thorn-shaped signum with a round base at its equator.

Diagnosis.

The brown shadow of the postmedial fascia reaches the wing margin at the apex in contrast to A. floralis , A. zephyrus and A. witti which terminates approximately 5 mm from the wing apex. It is very similar to A. chloralis in colour and pattern, but in the latter species the submarginal fasciae are vague or absent in the hind wings; in the male genitalia the lobes of the uncus are spatulate.

Bionomics.

Localized but rather common in Hong Kong (Roger Kendrick, pers. comm., see also http://www.hkwildlife.net/viewthread.php?tid=12308). Moths are on the wing as two to four generations per year: two are obligate - the first with emergence from October to January; the second from April to May. Intermediate generations are known to occasionally occur. The species is typically coastal and is not known from the interior of the continent. In contrast to A. chloralis sp. nov., it does not occur in the higher mountains and is mostly known from lowlands (100 m) up to 1.025 m. The biology of the species was studied by Mell (1929 [1930]) who also figured the caterpillars and pupa of the species (Figs 32 View Figures 31–34 , 50 View Figures 50–57 , 51 View Figures 50–57 ). The watery off-white eggs of A. kantonensis are approximately 1.5 mm in diameter and 0.76 mm in height. Eggs laid in April hatch in 10 - 12 days. Before hatching, eggs become darker, changing through yellow to brown. Caterpillars of the first instar are 5 mm long, with whitish body and yellow head. There are two rows of black subdorsal verrucas covered with whitish setae of similar length to the larval body (5 - 7 mm). On being disturbed, the caterpillars curl up into a ball which helps them to be rolled away by wind - rather like the seeds of some plants. After the first moult the basic colour changes to whitish-yellow, the caterpillars becoming a bit brighter. After the second moult the head becomes rusty yellow. The number of rusty hairs increases after the third moult. In the fifth instar, after the fourth moult, the caterpillar becomes completely brown with shiny red-brown hairs of approximately 1 cm densely covering its body (Fig. 50 View Figures 50–57 ). Maximum size of the caterpillars ranged from 4.5 - 5.8 cm. Mell recorded only 4 moults for caterpillars of this species, i.e. only 5 instars. It contradicts our data concerning allied species as well as other species of this family which all have 7 instars. Host plants are Caprifoliaceae: Lonicera macrantha and L. confusa , but other bushes and trees could be also be utilized ( Mell 1929 [1930]: 422).

Caterpillars grow fast; the spring generation develops in only 31 - 33 days. The pupa is sheltered between leaves in a dense but soft cocoon of 25-35 mm length, densely covered with larval setae. Male pupae reach 22 mm, the females 28 - 29 mm. Antennal cases of both sexes are more than twice as thick at the level of mid legs bases. Cremaster is straight. Pupal (Fig. 36 View Figures 35–49 ) development is very uneven and usually takes from 14 - 19 but may increase up to 32 - 35 days, pupal diapauses have been recorded up to 114 days (loc. cit.: 424). Mell records copulation by females immediately after hatching; they begin oviposition in 4 days and can lay all their eggs in a single night; female fertility is 87 - 160 eggs.

Distribution.

South-eastern China: Guangdong; Vietnam; Cambodia (Fig. 59 View Figures 58–59 ).