Sagarriella romei ( Sagarra, 1924 ) Macià & Mally & Ylla & Gastón & Huertas, 2019

Macià, Ramon, Mally, Richard, Ylla, Josep, Gastón, Javier & Huertas, Manuel, 2019, Integrative revision of the Iberian species of Coscinia Hübner, [1819] sensu lato and Spiris Hübner, [1819], (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Arctiinae), Zootaxa 4615 (3), pp. 401-449 : 422-424

Sagarriella romei ( Sagarra, 1924) comb. nov.

Original combination: Coscinia romei Sagarra, 1924 . Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d´Història Natural, 2ª Sèrie. 4 (9), 195. LT. Albarracín ( Spain)

= Coscinia romeii melanopterina Fernández, 1933 .

Studied material. 4♂♂ Val de Falcones , La Retuerta (Zaragoza), 390 m, 30TYL39, 19.IX.2014, R. Macià leg. ; 1♂ Casla (Segovia), 7.IX.2007, V. Redondo leg. ; 2♂♂ Barranco El Espartal, Baza ( Granada) 770 m, 29.IX.1996, Pérez- López leg. ; 1♂, 1♀ La Losilla, Albarracín (Teruel) 12.IX.1993, F. Blat leg. ; 1♂ Huelamo (Cuenca), 25.IX.1981, F. Blat leg. ; 1♂ Aranjuez (Madrid), 24.IX.1966, Gómez-Bustillo leg.

Diagnosis. Imago distinguished from S. libyssa by the golden orange-ochre forewing upperside, sprinkled with black dots, and that of the hindwing, which fades from pale orange to dark-brown in males and from pale yellow to brown in females. The male genitalia of S. romei differ from those of S. libyssa in the medially slightly widened uncus, the roundly convex dorsal valva edge (obtuse angle in central dorsal valva margin in S. libyssa ), the wider opening between cucullus and subapical process on the ventral edge of the valva, the evenly rounded coecum of the aedeagus, and in the female genitalia by the absence of distinct signa and a fully membranous ductus seminalis.

Description. Imago ( Figs 17–18 ). Average wingspan (males) 25.6 mm (n = 10; 23–29 mm); (females) 19.6 (n = 10; 16–22). Upper surface of forewings golden orange-ochre, dusted with a scattering of fine black dots over the entire surface, more densely on the central part of the costa. Upper surface of hindwings in males pale orange, fading into dark brown towards tip and termen; in females costal area brown, fading into pale yellow towards dorsum. Considerable sexual dimorphism, females having a more voluminous abdomen and narrower, apically more pointed wings.

Genitalia ( Fig. 36 ). Valvae of male genitalia apically with a strongly pointed, hook-shaped cucullus, and with a triangular process subapically on the ventral edge; cucullus and subapical process together giving the impression of a “crab claw”. Aedeagus cylindrical with an evenly rounded coecum; numerous small spinules (cornuti) on the vesica in the posterior end. In the female genitalia, the papillae anales and segment VIII are relatively large in comparison with the copulatory tract. Ductus bursae short, with a T- or Y-shaped sclerite along the ventral side; ductus seminalis membranous; bursa copulatrix membranous apart from a few diffuse sclerotisations.

Immature stages ( Fig. 49 ). Last instar larva measures 16–20 mm. Head capsule dark brown. Dorsal area up to verruca L1 dark brown, then up to verruca L3 brown to dark orange. Dorsal central area with a narrow white line; ventral surface light brown to light grey; verruca D1, D2, SD1, L1, L2, L3 dark brown; thoracic legs with translucent femur, straw-coloured tibia, dark brown tarsus and light brown nail; abdominal prolegs with 9 to 10 larger nails. Pupa bright reddish brown that of male straight, that of female slightly tilted ventrally; antennae not touching distally, tips of pterothecae touching in a curved way.

Molecular data. Intraspecific uncorrected p-distances of the COI Barcode sequences range from 0% to 0.22%, with a mean of 0.11% (n = 4). The nearest interspecific neighbour is S. libyssa , with an uncorrected p-distance of 5.62–6.26%. GenBank accession numbers of the four partial COI sequences are MH688112 – MH688115 (see also Table 2 ).

Sequencing of the nuclear wingless gene was successful with two samples, which have identical nucleotide sequences. The minimum interspecific p-distance is 2.39% to S. striata and S. bipunctata ; comparison of wingless sequences with S. libyssa was not possible as sequencing of this marker was not successful in this taxon. GenBank accession numbers of the two partial wingless sequences are MH688151 and MH688152 .

In the phylogenetic results, S. romei is strongly supported as monophyletic (1.00 PP, 100% BS), and strongly (1.00 PP) to moderately (83% BS) supported sister to the congeneric S. libyssa .

Biology. Univoltine, imagines flying in a single extended generation from late August to mid-October, depending on the locality. The males are active during the day and especially before twilight. Both sexes are attracted at night to artificial light. The females are incapable of long flights due to their bulky abdomen and their relatively small wing surface, so they tend to remain perched on the stems of grasses. The larvae feed on different species of Stipa (Poaceae) , and possibly also on Lavandula and Rosmarinus (Lamiaceae) ( Ylla et al. 2010). Additional data on the biology can be found in García-Barros (1992).

Distribution ( Fig. 58 ). Endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, typical of steppe arid zones, at altitudes between 200 and 1200 m. Sagarriella romei seems to prefer stony localities in sunny open places rich in Quercus coccifera , Juniperus sabina , Thymus and Rosmarinus ( Ylla et al. 2010) .

Remarks. The correct spelling of the species epithet is romei (with a single i), and not romeii (with double-i). (= romeii ; sensu auct.)

Figures

FIGURE 36. S. romei, male and female genitalia, gen. prep. 5726JG m. La Retuerta, Zaragoza, (Spain), 5708JG f. La Retuerta, Zaragoza, (Spain).

FIGURE 49. Immature state Sagarriella romei (picture MH).

FIGURE 58. Distribution map of S. romei.

FIGURES 9–18. 9. C. chrysocephala, male, Sierra Cabrera, Turre,Almería, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 10. C. chrysocephala, female, El Abalario, Huelva, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 11. C. mariarosae, male, Coll de Reis, Nus de sa Corbata, Escorca, Mallorca, Balears, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 12. C. mariarosae, female, Coll de Reis, Nus de sa Corbata, Escorca, Mallorca, Balears, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 13. S. libyssa caligans, male, Bronte, Etna, Sicilia, (Italy) (coll. RMV); 14. S. libyssa caligans, female, Bronte, Etna, Sicilia, (Italy) (coll. RMV); 15. S. libyssa liouvillei, male, Mischliffen, Middle Atlas, (Morocco) (coll. RMV); 16. S. libyssa liouvillei, female, Mischliffen, Middle Atlas, (Morocco) (coll. RMV); 17. S. romei, male, Val de Falcones, La Retuerta, Zaragoza, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 18. S. romei, female, Val de Falcones, La Retuerta, Zaragoza, (Spain) (coll. RMV).