Pieris melete melete Menetries , 1857

Ge, Si Xun, Jiang, Zhuo Heng, Wang, Jia Qi, Song, Kui, Zhang, Chao & Hu, Shao Ji, 2023, A revision of the Pieris napi - complex (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and similar species with distribution in China, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 81, pp. 257-287 : 257

Pieris melete melete Menetries, 1857

Pieris melete Ménétriés, 1857; Cat. lep. Petersb. 2: 113, pl. 10, f. 1-2; TL: Japan (original description)

Pieris napi var. orientis Oberthür, 1880; Etud. d’Entom. 5: 13; TL: Asakold.

Pieris orientis Oberthür, 1880; Eitschberger (1983): Herbipoliana 1(1-2): 339 (upgraded as distinct species from Pieris napi var. orientis )

Pieris napi ; Chou (1999): Monographia Rhopalocerorum Sinensium 1: 258, f5. [MisID]

Pieris orientis Oberthür, 1880; Tadokoro (2011): Butterflies 58: 34-40 (as a synonym of Pieris melete melete )

Pieris orientis Oberthür, 1880; Wu & Hsu (2017): Butterflies of China vol.1: 404, f. 17-18

Description.

Both wings whitish on the upperside and pale yellowish to yellowish on the underside. Spring form: medium size. Male (Fig. 13I ): apical spot blackish with slightly whitish powder, partly merging as a small dark triangular spot on the apex. All discal spots and outer spot absent on the upperside or only the 1st discal spot faintly developed. The 1st and 2nd discal spot vaguely developed on the underside. Female (Fig. 13J ): apical spot brownish without suffusion or merging. The 1st, 2nd and outer spot present on the upperside while only the 2nd discal spot present on the underside. All veins with rather narrowly brownish powder on both sides. Summer form: medium to large size. Resembles spring form, but larger in size and with rounder wing shape. Male (Fig. 13K ): the 1st discal spot present on both sides and the 2nd discal spot strongly developed on the underside (sometimes also rather faintly developed on the upperside). Female (Fig. 13L ): all spots strongly developed on both sides (except the outer spot absent on the underside). Dark powder along veins less developed than spring forms in both sexes and almost absent on the underside of hindwings.

Distribution.

Northeast China, North and South Korea, Japan, Far East Russia

Phenology.

Bivoltine, from May to August.

Male genitalia.

(Fig. 5R ) tegumen broad on its basal part and narrower in the apical half; basal margin of uncus as wide as the distal margin of tegumen with a slight concave intermedia; uncus with its median part moderately convex, apical half of uncus digitation.

Female genitalia.

(Fig. 8D ) inner distal of sterigma near spindle shaped with its distal part distinct expanded; inner basal of sterigma plate protrusion, acutely-angled connected at the basal margin; signum cordiform shaped, extremely short and broad, with its terminal margin smoothly obtusely concave.

Note.

It is noteworthy that the eastern Russian and Chinese populations of this taxon were elevated to species level by Eitschberger (1983) (i. e., Pieris orientis ) and the recent Chinese work, Wu & Hsu (2017), followed the abovementioned viewpoint. However, Tadokoro (2011) based on phylogenetic analysis of specimens from a relatively wide range of regions treated this taxon as a synonym of Pieris melete melete . Here we follow the opinion of Tadokoro (2011).

Figures

Figure 5. Tegumen and uncus of male genitalia in dorsal view. Scale bar represents 1 mm.

Figure 8. Habitus of species similar to P. napi - complex distributed in China. Scale bar represents 0.5 mm.

Figure 13. Habitus of species similar to the P. napi - complex, distributed in China. Composite pictures on the left show the upperside, on the right show the underside. A - D Pieris melaina Roeber, 1907. E - F Pieris extensa Poujade, 1888. G - H Pieris chumbiensis gyantsensis Verity, 1911. I - L Pieris melete Menetries, 1857. Scale bar represents 10 mm. (C, D reference Eitschberger, 1983)