Josia fusigera Walker Plate, 1864

Miller, James S, 2009, Generic Revision Of The Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) Part 2: Josiini, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2009 (321), pp. 675-1022 : 821

Josia fusigera Walker Plate 32

Josia fusigera Walker, 1864: 133 .

TYPE LOCALITY: (Sine patria).

TYPE: Syntype ♀, ex Norris Collection ( BMNH).

Josia fusifera Druce, 1885a: 149 .

TYPE LOCALITY: Nicaragua, Chontales. TYPE: Syntype ♀, leg. T. Belt ( BMNH).

Josia flexuosa Hering, 1925: 528 , fig. 71e. New synonymy.

TYPE LOCALITY: ‘‘Mexico’’.

TYPE: Syntype ³/ ♀, leg. Deppe ( ZMH).

Josia diminuata Hering, 1925: 528 , fig. 71e. New synonymy.

TYPE LOCALITY: ‘‘Honduras’’.

TYPE: Holotype ♀, leg. ‘‘Wittk.’’ ( ZMH).

DISCUSSION: Josia fusigera can be recognized by it relatively large size (FW length 5 18.5–22.0 mm), and by having broad, light yellow-orange FW and HW stripes. The stripes in both wings are truncate at their apices. Although the species occurs from Nicaragua north to Mexico, the majority of material in collections is from the latter country.

After performing a series of dissections to compare genitalia morphology across a range of specimens, I here propose flexuosa Hering , along with its so-called subspecies diminuata Hering , as synonyms of fusigera . In all these, male and female genitalia are identical. My studies also confirm that the name fusifera Druce should be retained as a synonym of fusigera , following Bryk (1930).

DISTRIBUTION: Mexico (AMNH, ARTC, BMNH, CMNH, LACM, MNHN, USNM, ZMH); Guatemala (BMNH, CMNH, USNM); Honduras (BMNH, CMNH, USNM, ZMH); Nicaragua (BMNH, OUMNH).

DISSECTED: ³, Mexico, Coatepec, leg. J. Brooks, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-341 ) ; ³, Mexico, Veracruz, Henry Edwards Collection, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-286 ) ; ³, Mexico, Veracruz, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-290 ) ; ♀, Mexico, Veracruz, Orizaba , Jun 1913, leg. C.C. Hoffmann, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-287 , wing slide no. JSM-174 ) ; ♀, Mexico, Veracruz, AMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-291 ) ; ♀, Honduras, R. Sarstoon , leg. Blancaneau, BMNH (genitalia slide no. JSM-342 ) .