Spiris slovenica ( Daniel, 1939 )

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 : 426-427

Spiris slovenica ( Daniel, 1939)

Original combination: Coscinia striata slovenica Daniel, 1939 . Mitteilungen der Münchner Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 29, 356.

LT. Triglav-Gebiet [ Slovenia].

Material studied. 2♂♂, 1♀ Crni Kal , Petrinje ( Slovenia), 450 m . 22. VI.1991, Dunan leg.; 1♂, Crni Kal , Petrinje ( Slovenia), 420 m, 8. VI.1993, Stanta leg. ; 1♀ Vipavska Dolina , Miren ( Slovenia) 150 m, 18. VI.1993, Stanta leg. ; 1♂ Goriski Kras , Opatje ( Slovenia), 150 m, 8.VII.1989, Stanta leg. ; 1♂, 1♀ Vivaro , Udine, Venezia Giulia ( Italy), 138 m, 18.VII.2013, Czadek leg. ; 2♂♂, 2♀♀ Pazin , melanoptera form, Istrie (Kroatia), 250 m ., 25. VI.1992, Krénck leg.

Diagnosis. Spiris slovenica cannot be distinguished from S. striata on external characters of the imagines, and the genitalia have to be investigated. In the male genitalia of S. slovenica which have been studied, the cucullus is bent ventrad, and in particular, the large ventral thorn on the tip of the cucullus is strongly bent, forming a hook; clavus trapezoidal, with ventral margin entirely straight, dorsal margin parallel to ventral margin for half-length of clavus, in apical half evenly tapered towards the rounded, spiny tip (but see Remarks below). As in S. striata , some melanic forms are known.

Description. Imago ( Figs 23–26 ). Average wingspan 35.4 mm (n = 10; 28–42 mm). Wing maculation as described for the genus.

Genitalia ( Fig. 38 ). Male genitalia with short uncus, base with several long simple setae, central part somewhat constricted, tip blunt and broad; tegumen and vinculum broad, rounded semi-circular; juxta large oval, with a central longitudinal strip of weaker sclerotisation; valvae elongate rectangular, strongly sclerotized, apically bent ventrad, ventral apical thorn bent ventrad to form a short hook, dorsal base of valva with prominent dorsally directed trapezoid clavus. Female genitalia as for the genus.

Immature stages. Not studied.

Molecular data. The publicly available DNA Barcode data of S. slovenica allow the inclusion of this species in our phylogenetic analysis. Intraspecific uncorrected p-distances are 0–1.51%, with a mean of 1.05% (n = 6). The nearest interspecific p-distance is 3.89% to S. striata . Spiris bipunctata has a p-distance of 4.10–4.75% to S. slovenica . In the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), S. slovenica is represented by BIN AAL9555. Sequence data on the nuclear wingless gene are not available.

In the phylogenetic results, S. slovenica is strongly supported as monophyletic (1.00 PP, 100% BS) and poorly supported as sister (59% BS, PP<0.90) to S. striata ( Fig. 62 ).

Biology. Univoltine, flying from June to July, showing preference for xerothermic steppe areas; diurnal. Larvae are polyphagous on a wide variety of plant species ( Witt & Ronkay 2011).

Distribution ( Fig. 60 ). According to Witt & Ronkay (2011), S. slovenica is endemic to the Julian Alps and the north-western mountainous area of Slovenia and Croatia. Huemer (2012) indicates that the actual distribution range might be much wider, and he gives confirmed records from southern Carinthia ( Austria), and from the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige to Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as from Lazio and Apulia.

Remarks. In Italy, there seems to be an extraordinary variability in the genitalic morphology between different populations. The dissection of some scattered specimens gives astonishing results as if in Italy would exist up to five completely different sympatric species of Spiris (Alberto Zilli, pers. comm.). The authors, after the dissection of a great number of Iberian and French Spiris , have been unable to find the existence of the same genitalic variability.

Figures

FIGURE 38. S. slovenica, male and female genitalia, gen. prep. 5821JG m. Crni Kal, Petrinje, (Slovenia), 5820JG f. Crni Kal, Petrinje, (Slovenia).

FIGURE 60. Distribution map of S. slovenica.

FIGURE 62. Phylogenetic tree (General Time Reversible model + Gamma distribution) obtained from Bayesian analysis of combined COI Barcode and wingless gene data of the Arctiinae specimens studied; numbers above branches are Posterior Probabilities ≥ 0.90, numbers below branches are Bootstrap values obtained from 1,000 Bootstrap replicates of a Maximum Likelihood analysis conducted with RaxML. Within the C. cribraria clade, the subspecies C. c. benderi, C. c. rippertii and C. c. ibicenca are marked in slightly darker green. The black vertical bars on the right mark BOLD BINs; the specimens of BIN ACE7017 are nested within BIN AAD9042. The scale bar (upper left) represents substitutions per nucleotide position.

FIGURES 19–28. 19. S. striata, male, Paterna del Madera, Albacete, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 20. S. striata, female, El Cerro, Gredilla la Polera, Burgos, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 21. S striata f. melanoptera, male, Loma del Rey, Quintanilla Sobresierra, Burgos, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 22. El Cerro, Gredilla la Polera, Burgos, (Spain) (coll. RMV); 23. S. slovenica, male, Crni Kal, Petrinje, (Slovenia) (coll. RMV); 24. S. slovenica, female, Crni Kal, Petrinje, (Slovenia) (coll. RMV); 25. S. Slovenica f. melanoptera, male, Goriski Kras, Kostanjevica, (Slovenia) (coll. RMV); 26. S. Slovenica f. melanoptera, female, Goriski Kras, Kostanjevica, (Slovenia) (coll. RMV); 27. L. bifasciata, male, Val d´Ese, Corse, (France) (coll. RMV); 28. L. bifasciata, female, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia, (Italy) (coll. RMV).