Hepialodes Guenée, 1858

Queiroz-Santos, Luziany, Casagrande, Mirna Martins & Mielke, Olaf Hermann Hendrik, 2021, Taxonomic revision of the monotypic genera of Siculodini (Lepidoptera, Thyridoidea, Thyrididae, Siculodinae), Zootaxa 4920 (2), pp. 235-253 : 236-237

Hepialodes Guenée, 1858

( Figs 1 , 5 , 9 , 13 , 15 )

Hepialodes Guenée, 1858 , in Boisduval & Guenée. Species général des Lépidoptères, Atlas, plate 1, fig. 1 (male d); species included: Hepialodes follicula Guenée, 1858 .— Guenée, 1877. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (5) 7:

303.— Hampson, 1897, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1897 (1): 631.— Dalla Torre, 1914. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 20: 40.— Gaede, 1936, in Seitz. Die Gross -Schmetterlinge des Amerikanischen Faunengebietes, Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer 6: 1205.— Whalley, 1964. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (13) 7 (74): 120.— Whalley & Heppner, 1995, Thyridoidea, in Becker et al. Checklist: Part 2, Hyblaeoidea–Pyraloi-dea–Tortricoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera 3: 32.

Type species: Hepialodes follicula Guenée, 1858 , by monotypy.

Taxonomic history. Hepialodes was originally described based on the male figure of Hepialodes follicula .

Diagnosis. Hepialodes is distinguished from the remaining Siculodini by: (i) wings ( Fig. 1 ) with an ocher ground color with a dry leaf appearance in various shades of brown; (ii) hindwing with the costal margin biconcave; (iii) fenestra triangular; (iv) saccus oval, (v) valva with anterior portion bilobed; (vi) fultura inferior U-shaped; (vii) aedeagus S-shaped; (viii) vesica with cornuti; (ix) tergum VIII rectangular and (x) signum spanning the entire width of the bursa.

Redescription. Forewing: length—males 40.5 mm (n=10), females 39.6 mm (n = 17); apex and distal third of the inner margin concave; divided by dark brown lines on both sides from just over half of the costal margin to the middle of the inner margin, markings less intense on the ventral face, basal area slightly lighter; single tiny white area on the ventral face between R 4 –M 3 at the interception with the mesal line; retinaculum absent.

Hindwing: length—males 34.2 mm (n = 10), females 32.2 mm (n = 17); distal half of the costal margin biconcave; dorsal face with a diffuse line, as a continuation of that of the forewing, to the center of the outer margin, with a second similar line sub-basal from the costal margin to the inner margin; on the ventral face the basal half lighter and lines poorly defined; white spot on both sides, over sub-basal line between M 1 –M 3; frenulum absent.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 5 ): tegumen rectangular in dorsal view, with rounded apex, lateral margins slightly concave, forming lateral lobes; fenestra triangular; saccus oval in lateral view; uncus proximally enlarged, narrowing in the second third and ending in a slightly curved, ventral point, with thin short setae at the beginning of the tapered section; gnathos thin, projected ventrally in a U-shape; valva with developed costa and sacculus, anterior portion bilobed, costa slightly concave, ventral margin sinuous, apex rounded and internal face with scattered setae; fultura inferior U-shaped, with oval ends and short setae; aedeagus cylindrical and S-shaped with rounded opening for the ejaculatory ductus and vesica with a row of approximately 50 thin cornuti.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 9 ): tergum VIII rectangular in lateral view, lamella antevaginalis slightly sclerotized, ostium membranous; anterior apophyses as long as the posterior apophyses; bursa copulatrix with slightly sclerotized ductus in the first third, ductus six and a half times longer than the corpus bursae; signum ( Fig. 13 ) spanning the entire width of the bursa with numerous sclerotized spines, more abundant and smaller in the central region; papillae anales oval, longer than tall and covered with short and thin setae.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Male genitalia of Hepialodes follicula from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Itatiaia (MZUSP). A) ventral view. B) lateral view. C) inner view of valva. D) dorsal view of tegumen and uncus. E) dorsal view of aedeagus. F) lateral view of aedeagus. G) cornuti. Scale bar 1mm.

FIGURE 15. Geographic distribution of Hepialodes and Meskea species in North, Central and South America.

FIGURES 1–2. Hepialodes and Iza species in dorsal (A and C) and ventral (B and D) views. 1. H. follicula, A–B: male from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Itatiaia (MZUSP); C–D: female from Brazil, Pará (NHMUK 010921585). 2. I. nubecula, A–B: male from Brazil, Bahia, Camacan (MWM); C–D: female from Brazil, Mato Grosso, Alto Paraguai (MWM 36.272). Scale bar 1cm.

FIGURES 9–12. Female genitalia of Hepialodes, Iza, Loxiorhiza and Meskea species in lateral view. 9. H. follicula from Brazil, Goiás, Campinaçu (Barra Mansa farm) (DZ 39.216). 10. I. nubecula from Brazil, S„o Paulo, Salesópolis (Boraceia) (DZ 39.288). 11. L. cervinalis from Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Buenavista (NHMUK 010921618). 12. M. dyspteraria from El Salvador, San Salvador (MSFR). Scale bar 1mm.

FIGURES 13–14. Signa of Hepialodes and Loxiorhiza species. 13. H. follicula from Brazil, Goiás, Campinaçu (Barra Mansa farm) (DZ 39.216). Scale bar 1mm. 14. L. cervinalis from Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Buenavista (NHMUK 010921618). Scale bar 0,5mm.