Leucosigma reletiva Dyar, 1914

Goldstein, Paul Z., Janzen, Daniel H., Proshek, Benjamin, Dapkey, Tanya & Hallwachs, Winnie, 2018, A review of Leucosigma Druce, 1908: a newly discovered case of fern-feeding and descriptions of three new species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), ZooKeys 788, pp. 87-133 : 93-95

Leucosigma reletiva Dyar, 1914 Figs 19, 20, 29, 30; Male genitalia: Figs 61, 62, 91, 92, 115, 116; Female genitalia: Fig. 110

Leucosigma reletiva Dyar, 1914. Type locality: [Panama] Trinidad River, female.

Material examined.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♀: PANAMA: A Busck coll, Rio Trinidad Mar. 12 Pan., Type No. 15839 U.S.N.M., Leucosigma reletiva Type Dyar, USNMENT00973166, ♀ USNM Dissection 148170. Type at USNM.

Other material examined.

COSTA RICA (2♂): Alajuela: Sector Rincon Rain Forest: Protrero Chaves, 10.93868, -85.32167, el. 433m, 08/18/2009, R. Franco& S. Rios, collector, 09-SRNP-107116, USNM Dissection 148177, USNMENT01370297; Guanacaste: Sector Pitilla: Estacion Pitilla, 10.98931, -85.42581, el. 675m, 02/17/2007, S Rios & F. Quesada, collector, 07-SRNP-101206, USNM Dissection 148178, USNMENT01437211.

Diagnosis.

Wing patterning not readily differentiated from that of L. chloe , although overall paler in the specimens examined and figured here, possibly reflecting wear. Both L. reletiva and L. chloe have in common with L. schausi a reniform spot with a straight outer edge, squared at the lower corner. Male genitalia similar in some respects to those of L. chloe , especially in the recurved, pointed clasper, but sacculus wider and cucullus less sinuate apically, aduncate, with pronounced subapical setal fan as in L. albimixta ; vesica with small distal secondary lobe.

Re-description.

Head. Antennae setose-ciliate, bifasciculate in males, scaled above with alternating tan and brown bands of spatulate scales. Frons, vertex, and labial palpus with mixture of gray, brown, and some purplish scales; frons paler than vertex. Eyes sparsely hairy.

Thorax. Thoracic vestiture a mix of grayish-tan scales tipped with brown, a pair of green-scaled patches at base of pagatial fan. Wings. Forewing length 11.8 mm (holotype, female), average 12.0 mm (males, n = 2). Forewing pale, slightly cupreous baso-medially such that the gray medial line stands out; fused reniform-orbicular stigmata green, outlined in white, bracket a brown patch outlined in dark brown; terminal area shaded with green; apical patch silvery white; hind wings uniformly gray above in male and female alike, hind wing undersides shaded towards costa, postmedial line broken. Legs. Scales grayish brown, mostly concolorous with thoracic vestiture; femora and tibia with an admixture of lime-green scales; a single pair of striped mid-tibial spurs, two pairs on hind-tibiae; three rows of tibial spines on all legs, as for other members of the genus.

Abdomen. Dorsum covered in uniformly tannish-brown scales and hairs; ventral side more darkly scaled with two rows of paler tan scales on either side of the medial line (cf. L. chloe , below).

Male genitalia. Uncus elongate, widest subapically, upwardly curved with a small apical point. and bearing ventral crest of short setae. Tegumen hemi-circular or nearly so. Vinculum cup-shaped. Saccus squared off. Juxta spade-shaped, with a mid-dorsal projection; annellar arms fused, hoop-like. Sacculus (1) bluntly rounded, heavily setose; sclerotized part of cucullus (2) elongate, concave, aduncate with a subapical setal fan; dorsal process (3) widest medially, densely setose apically; clasper (4) recurved to a point. Aedeagus faintly granular towards vesica, where the sclerotized part is narrowed to a sinuous strap. Vesica without cornuti; paired subbasal and medial diverticula knoblike, with a small apical diverticulum present.

Female genitalia. Posterior apophyses less than twice as long as anterior apophyses. Lamella antevaginalis V-shaped, deeply invaginated posteriorly. Ostium wide. Colliculum welldeveloped. Ductus undifferentiated except for small pre-collicular lobe. Corpus bursae obliquely shaped, sub-triangular when distended with spermatophore(s). Ductus bursae robust, not>3 × long as width at middle. Colliculum present, well developed. With two spermatophores, maintaining a very roughly foot-shaped appearance, the distal (anterior) part of the bursa distended to accommodate the corpus of the spermatophore (cf. holotype of L. uncifera ).

Immature stages. Undocumented.

Biology.

Feeding on foliage of Bolbitis portoricensis ( Dryopteridaceae ) in ACG rain forest (96-SRNP-11467).

Distribution.

Costa Rica, Panama.

Remarks.

Dyar described this species on the basis of a single female holotype specimen in poor condition which he nevertheless recognized as having kinship with L. uncifera .