Idalus paulae Espinoza

Espinoza, Bernardo A., Janzen, Daniel H., Winnie Hallwachs, & J. Bolling Sullivan,, 2013, Description of a new species and subspecies of Idalus Walker from Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini), ZooKeys 264, pp. 71-84 : 72-76

Idalus paulae Espinoza sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 5, 7

Type material.

Holotype. ♂:COSTA RICA: Prov. Heredia, Santa Barbara, Finca La Kandela, 1400-1500m, 10.079°N, 84.159°W, 19-23.Oct.2011, leg. B. Espinoza; Trampa de Luz; Voucher # INB0004301794; GenBank accession # JX681671. [INBio].

Paratypes.

9♂5♀ COSTA RICA: 1 ♂, Prov. Cartago, Tapantí, Río Grande de Orosi, 1300-1400m, 9.775°N, 83.796°W, 09.Apr.1984, leg. DH Janzen & W. Hallwachs; Voucher # INB0003455064, (dissected); 1 ♂, Prov. Puntarenas, Las Tablas, P. Internac. La Amistad, 1920 m, 8.949°N, 82.744°W, 13.Apr.1989, leg. G. Mora, M. Ramirez; Voucher # INBIOCRI000014399, (dissected); 1 ♂, Prov. Puntarenas, P.N. Piedras Blancas, Sector Riyito, 100m, 8.736°N, 83.288°W, 10.Sep.2002, leg. H. Mendez; Tp. de Luz; Voucher # INB0003536513; 1 ♂, Prov. S. José, P. N. Braulio Carrillo, Est. Zurqui, 500 m antes del Tunel, 1600m, 10.059°N, 84.012°W, 01.May.1991, leg. G. Maass; Voucher # INBIOCRI000358645; 2 ♂, Prov. Here, Res. Biol. Chompipe, C. Chompipe, 2100m, 10.088°N, 84.071°W, 9.Set.1991, leg. J. F. Corrales; Voucher # INBIOCRI000392944, INBIOCRI000392945; 1 ♂, Prov. Alajuela, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, alrededores del hotel. 1480m, 10.204°N, 84.167°W, 5-10.Aug.2007, leg. B. Espinoza; Tp. de Luz; Voucher # INB0004313093; 1 ♂, Prov. Cartago, La Unión. Z. P. C. Carpintera, Campo Esc. Istarú, 1750m, 9.891°N, 83.971°W, 16-17.Aug.2008, leg. R. Rojas; Tp. Luz Mercurio; Voucher # INB0004160698; GenBank accession # JX681685; 1 ♂, Prov. Heredia, Santa Barbara, Finca La Kandela, 1400-1500m, 10.079°N, 84.159°W, 19-23.Oct.2011, leg. B. Espinoza; Trampa de Luz; Voucher # INB0004301795; GenBank accession # JX681694; 1♂, Prov. San José, San Gerardo de Dota, QERC, 2230m, 9.619°N, 83.835°W, 16-27.Mar.2003, leg. J. B. Sullivan, J.D. Lafontaine; 1♀, Prov. San José, Par. Nac. Braulio Carrillo, Estación Zurquí (el Túnel), 1500m, 10.063°N, 84.011°W, 01.Oct.1985, leg. I. y A. Chacón; Voucher # INB0003506722; 1 ♀, Prov. San José, Par.Nac. Braulio Carrillo Estación Zurquí (el Túnel), 1500m, 10.063°N, 84.011°W, 9-11.Jun.1986, leg. I. y A. Chacón; Voucher # INB0003428272; 1♀, Prov. S. José, P. N. Braulio Carrillo, Est. Zurquí, 500 m antes del Tunel, 1600m, 10.059°N, 84.012°W, 01.May.1991, leg. G. Maass; Voucher # INBIOCRI000654190, (dissected); 1 ♀, Prov. Cartago, Paraíso, Pque Nal Tapantí, Sect La Represa, del Puente del Río Porras 300m SE, 1660m, 9.695°N, 83.781°W, 01.Jul.2002, leg. R. Delgado; Tp de Luz; Voucher # INB0003520571, (dissected); GenBank accession # JX681695. Paratypes deposited in INBio, BMNH, USNM, JBS.

Etymology.

This species is named for Ana Paula Zamora Espinoza, the author’s niece who has brought much happiness to her family.

Diagnosis.

This species can be recognized by the four dark-brown horizontal stripes on the medial area of forewings, between vein Cu1 and the posterior margin together with the yellow medial area (Figs 1, 2), uncus with a bifid and U-shaped terminus in dorsal view, valve with the saccular margin lobulated in the middle (Figs 5a, 5b) and by its distinctive DNA barcode.It is very similar to Idalus maesi faustinoi , which has only three dark brown horizontal stripes on postmedial area of forewing.

Description.

Adult male (Figs 1a, 1b, 5a, 5b, 5c). HEAD: Small head and large eyes; antennae serrate, base and antennae tip white, mid shaft brown; vertex slightly raised and hairy, yellow-orange; frons white with irregular mesial dark brown patch; labial palpi short and robust, upper half dark brown and lower half white; proboscis well developed. THORAX: Patagium white with red posterior edge and transverse yellow-orange band; tegula white, red laterally with a stripe curving inward extending from the base to the apex; thorax robust, white, with two small and elongate dark brown anterior patches, two large, red mid-dorsal patches and two small dark brown rounded patches on the posterior margin, ventrally white, hairy and with a red, longitudinal and ventrolateral stripe below the wings; anterior coxae striped with red. Forelegs white, femur dark brown on the proximal surface, tibia double striped with dark brown from base to tips, tarsal segments brown on the anterior surface; middle legs white, femur with a dark brown patch on tips, tibia double striped with dark brown on the proximal half, tarsi white with brown irregularly on posterior surface; hind legs white, a dark brown patch at the junction of the femur and tibia, tarsi white with irregular brown on posterior surface. ABDOMEN: White ground color, dorsally red between terga 1 and 7, basal segment with an irregular patch of long white hair and a series of small white dots between terga 3 and 7; white ventrally. WINGS: Forewing length 20.4 mm (n = 10). Semihyaline, white ground color, a creamy-white triangular basal patch edged with brown and with four fine dark brown longitudinal lines between the costal margin and the anal vein; a small brown spot in the postbasal area running to the posterior margin; medial area with a large yellow-orange patch between anal margin and R1; a fine transverse dark brown line goes from the anal margin toward the costal margin and turns medially on it; a second parallel fine line, straight from the costal margin to the vein Cu1, then undulating from below it to the anal margin; on the costal margin and between the transverse lines, two very fine dark brown lines between the costal vein and R1 and four more stripes, one between Cu1 and Cu2, two between Cu2 and the anal vein and one between the anal vein and the posterior margin. Hindwing semihyaline white, expanded in humeral area. GENITALIA (Figs 5a, b, c): uncus elongate, slightly flattened dorso-ventrally and with an acute shape distally, on its dorsum a thin, longitudinal mesial ridge arising from near the base and almost reaching the tip, terminus bifid and U-shaped in dorsal view and with an acute edge. Valve sclerotized, very wide at the base, acute and slightly concave at the apex and with the saccular margin lobulated in the middle; a large lobe arising distally from the outer surface with a straight costal margin, the saccular margin lobulated in the middle and with a small and acute projection at the tip. Juxta convex, very slightly sclerotized but not well defined; transtilla membranous and very slightly sclerotized at the base of valvae; saccus short and V-shaped; aedeagus long, thin, curved ventrally in the anterior part and curved dorsally in the distal part; vesica short, with two basal diverticuli, one small lateral diverticulum on the right side and another in front projecting slightly ventrally and spinulose, distal portion of vesica with a large spinulose patch. Adult female (Figs 2a, 2b, 7). HEAD: antennae serrate but less so compared to male antennae; sensillae less dense and shorter in length compared to males. THORAX: markings as in male. ABDOMEN: markings as in male, but more robust and rounded at the tip. WINGS: Slight sexual dimorphism, with the only differences being that the shape and size of the female wing (forewing length: 22.8 mm (n = 04)), is broader and longer than that of the male, and the wing apices of the females are more rounded than in the males. GENITALIA (Fig. 7): Anal papillae flattened laterally and rectangular in lateral view with a dense patch of short setae dorso-laterally; posterior apophysis 2.5 x as long as anterior apophysis; ostium scle rotized, very wide, dorsal margin rugose, ventral margin deeply concave and U-shaped; ductus bursae elongate, sclerotized and compressed dorsoventrally; corpus bursae oval, membranous and rugose with two small spiculate signa, one on each side the bursa; appendix bursa oval, slightly smaller than corpus bursa.

Distribution and biology.

Idalus paulae has been collected between 1400 and 2230 m elevation in rain forest and the margins of cloud forest, on both Pacific and Atlantic slopes, from 1400 to 2230 m in the Cordillera Volcanica Central and the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica. There is a single specimen from the rain forest lowlands on the lowest slopes of the Cordillera Talamanca (100 m.) (Fig. 9). This is an unexpected locality but we are unable to find any differences between it and the remaining series of this species. Adults of Idalus paulae have been collected throughout the year but only in short series as the species is uncommon at lights and in light traps. No immature stages have been found but Idalus admirabilis , a related species, is known to feed on plants of the family Myrtaceae ( Porto Santos et al. 2006).