Haruchlora maesi Viidalepp & Lindt

Viidalepp, Jaan & Lindt, Aare, 2014, Haruchlora maesi, a new emerald moth genus and species from Mesoamerica (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Geometrinae), Zootaxa 3869 (2), pp. 165-170 : 167

Haruchlora maesi Viidalepp & Lindt , sp. nov.

Figs 1, 3–5 , 9 .

Holotype: ♂, Nicaragua, Matagalpa prov., Selva Negra Estate , 10.11.2009 (J. Viidalepp & V. Viidalepp leg.). Paratypes: 1♂, the same locality but 15.11.2009, genit. slide 8311, and 2♂, the same locality, but 14.11.2009, genital slide 8362 (J. Viidalepp & V. Viidalepp leg.) ; 3 ♂ , Costa Rica, Ujarras, 1660 m, 8.02.2007, 9°10’47“N, 83°45’00“W genit. slide 8413 (A. Lindt leg.). Holotype and three paratypes are deposited in IZBE collection, Tartu, Estonia, other paratypes in coll. Estonian Natural History Museum and coll. A. Lindt, Tallinn, Estonia.

Description. MALE. Wing span 24–25 mm in male ( Fig. 1 , 9 ). Head with frons of head dark cold brown, ventrally paler, fillet broadly white, vertex green, thin tan or rosy line between. Male antennal pectinations dark brown, up to 0.55 mm long at the tenth antennomere, antenna grey-brown dorsally, lined white inward. Palpus fuscous above and whitish below, 3rd segment brown, 0.27 mm long in male. Proboscis present. Thorax and abdomen dorsally green, with large white spots at tergites A1 and A3 edged red-brown, segment A4 with a small plain white blotch. The abdomen of Haruchlora and the Lissochlora albociliaria group bears white blotches on anterior tergites. The white spot at the first tergite is roundish in H. maesi and larger than in Lissochlora inconspicua (Bastelberger) ( Fig 2 ). The latter species and L. albociliaria have a subquadratish white spot at the tergite A1. Forewing costal edge lined by white and shadowed by thin grey line in male; discal spot dark grey, three antemedial marks and row of postmedial streaks bicolorous; the costal spot of postmedial row larger, followed by three radial spots in a straight row ( Fig. 1 ). The spot at vein M2 is shifted inward in species grouped with L. albociliaria by Pitkin (1993) ( Fig. 2 , L. inconspicua ). Hindwing discal spot and the postmedial spot at the vein M3 grey, other postmedial spots green, without white marks distally. No marginal line, white marginal spots at vein ends small, fringe creamy white, marked with brownish opposite to vein ends. Hind tibia longer than tarsus (as long as tarsus if the length of its distal projection not taken into account), distal projection stout, 0.67 mm long.

MALE GENITALIA. Uncus bifid, the parts diverging lyre-shaped ( Fig. 3 ); socii more rigid than uncus, broad at base and parallel-sided distally. Male genitalia as in the genus description. Aedeagus ( Fig. 4 ) without a lateral spur. Pregenital abdominal segments: sternite A8 one-half length of tergite A8, edged straight anteriorly and with a pair of tufted projections posteriorly ( Fig. 5 ). Sternite A3 with a pair of patches of deciduous needle-shaped scales.

FEMALE. unknown.

Distribution. Known from mountains of northern Nicaragua and central Costa Rica.

Biology. The moths were collected at light near primary mountainous forest and coffee plantations at about 1300–1500 m above sea level in Nicaragua ( Fig. 10 ) and at about 1600 m in Costa Rica, flying in November and February.

Discussion. Facies of moths fit with the concept of Lissochlora albociliaria (Herrich-Schäffer) species group ( Pitkin 1993) in green ground colour of wings, bicolour maculation bordering the medial area of forewing, build of antennae (pectinated in male), palpi (with 3rd segment short in male), structure of male hind tibiae (dilated triangular, provided with 2 pairs of spurs, hair pencil and distal projection of the slice hiding the pencil).

The male genitalia of species from the L. albociliaria group ( Figs 6, 7, 8 ) are characterised by “uncus hoodlike, broad, tapering to small crest of tiny teeth and wispy tuft of ‚hairs’; process of uncus short. Socii with narrow apical part and broad base. Gnathos a fairly broad loop with broad blunt distal tooth. Juxta usually without papilla...” ( Pitkin 1993: 56) (as in L. inconspicua , Fig. 6 ). The species of the genus Lissochlora have uncus usually rod-like, socii semi-membranous, rounded or linear, gnathos looped with narrow sharp distal tooth, valva with costal plate, which is sometimes broad. Valva of the new species lacks a basal costal process (which is distinctive for Nemoria , the taxonomically closest genus).

The characters of the new genus and species are probably autapomorphic as follows: the uncus bifid and socii strongly lyre-shaped; harpe present, long and projecting beyond the costa; gnathos a broad loop with a tiny conical distal tip, just a point; male sternite A8 with a pair of tufted projections close together. Paired projections to the eight sternite, close one to another, also occur in Indo-Australian Eucyclodes Guenée. The shape of uncus and that of sternite A8, the presence of harpe on valva are genus-level characters for Haruchlora , gen. nov.

Etymology. The senior author is thankful to Dr. J.-M. Maes (León, Nicaragua) for the invitation to participate in studying the fauna of Nicaragua. „Haru” means „branch” in Estonian; the uncus is bi-branched in the new genus of emerald green moths.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Haruchlora maesi, sp. nov., male specimen on screen before it has been trapped.

FIGURE 10. The collecting site in the Selva Negra estate, Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

FIGURES 1 – 8. Moths and the male genitalia of Haruchlora, gen. nov., and Lissochlora Warren. 1, 3 – 5 — Haruchlora maesi, sp. nov.: 1 — holotype male (Nicaragua), 3 – 5 — the male genitalia and male abdominal sternite A 8 of a paratype (Nicaragua). 2 — Lissochlora inconspicua (Bastelberger), female (Nicaragua). 6 – 8 — Lissochlora albociliaria (Herrich-Schäffer), the male genitalia and male abdominal sternite A 8 (Ecuador). 3, 6 — male genital armature, 4, 7 — aedeagus, 5, 8 — male abdominal sternite A 8.