Porphyrogenes zohra ( Möschler, 1879 )

Austin, George T. & Mielke, Olaf H. H., 2008, Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Porphyrogenes Watson (Lepidoptera: Pyrginae: Eudamini), with descriptions of new species from Central and South America, Insecta Mundi 2008 (44), pp. 1-56 : 17

Porphyrogenes zohra ( Möschler, 1879)

( Fig. 29, 30 , 81, 82 , 124 , 143 )

Telegonus zohra Möschler, 1879 . Type locality: Venezuela; male [holo] type ( Fig. 29, 30 ) in MNHU.

Description. Male ( Fig. 29, 30 , 81, 82 ) - mean forewing length = 24.3 mm (24.2-24.6 mm, n = 3; from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela); forewing with costal fold, apex pointed, not produced, termen and anal margin slightly convex; hindwing termen nearly straight, tornus produced to short lobe, vein Rs arising mid-base and end of discal cell and basad of CuA 2 ( Fig. 124 ); dorsum brown, unmarked; forewing overscaled with orange-brown, heaviest basad, anal margin with sparse tuft proximad; hindwing overscaled with orange-brown posterior to vein Rs, no indication of discal macules; shining gray speculum in base of anterior discal cell, proximal 1/4 of Sc+R 1 -Rs, and proximal 1/3 of costal cell; moderate length tan recumbent tuft near base of Sc+R 1 -Rs, semierect tan tuft arising from near base of discal cell covering speculum in discal cell and, with anterior tuft, covering base of speculum in Sc+R 1 -Rs ( Fig. 124 ); conspicuous erect orange-brown tuft along anterior edge of vein 2A, recumbent gray-tan tuft from posterior edge of 2A; fringes on both wings brown.

Venter orange-brown; forewing vein 2A moderately sinuate, bare and moderately swollen in central 1/3, no distinct groove ( Fig. 124 ); shining gray-brown speculum in proximal 1/4 of CuA 2 -2A (continued to end of bared portion of vein as modified red-brown scales) and in proximal 1/2 of anal cell (continued to tornus as modified red-brown scales); hindwing with no indication of discal macules; cell 2A-3A with deep groove just caudad of vein 2A.

Dorsal head and thorax orange-brown, palpi tawny, eyes red, antennae black on dorsum, yellow on venter and beneath apiculus, nudum red-brown, 27 (n = 1) or 29 (n = 1) segments, ventral thorax orangebrown, pectus tawny, legs orange-brown proximad, orange distad, dorsal abdomen brown, overscaled with orange-brown, ventral abdomen warm brown.

Genitalia ( Fig. 143 ) - tegumen narrow in lateral view, broad and nearly quadrate in dorsal view, long and thin dorso-caudal oriented process from each side of caudal end, tuft double and dense; uncus short, slightly decurved in lateral view, divided in dorsal view, arms widely spaced and short, ventral process of uncus as rounded lobe; gnathos shorter than uncus, terminal ends rounded in ventral view; combined ventral arms from tegumen and dorsal arms from saccus nearly straight; saccus narrow, long, oriented dorso-cephalad; valva with costa-ampulla triangular with narrow flap at apex, harpe very long, narrow becoming slightly broader caudad, curving upward rather abruptly to blunt (somewhat club-shaped in caudal view) and serrated caudal end oriented nearly dorsad; aedeagus much shorter than valva, broad with blunt and flaring caudal end; cornuti as double row of slightly curved, robust, and moderately long spikes.

Female - unknown.

Distribution and phenology. This species has been reported from Honduras and northern South America (Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, northern Brazil [Pará]) ( Möschler 1879, Draudt 1922, Williams and Bell 1940, Bell 1946, Evans 1952, de Jong 1983). Three males were examined during this study: HONDURAS: La Ceiba, 19 June 1981 (GTA #8903), NICARAGUA: Zelaya Dept., Bluefields, 9 Dec. 1975 (GTA #13918), and VENEZUELA: Barinas, Rio Caparo Res. Station, 32 km E El Canton, 3-5 Feb. 1978, seasonal forest at blacklight (J. M. Burns no. X-1673).

Diagnosis and discussion. Porphyrogenes zohra is most similar to P. stresa , but is overall more brightly colored, vein 2A is more sinuate and swollen, and there are differences in the genitalia as noted above under P. stresa . Draudt’s (1922) depiction indicated a specimen with a small yellow macule on the forewing. The male type in MNHU ( Fig. 29, 30 ) is the [holo] type of Telegonus zohra .

Evans (1952) and subsequent students (e.g., Mielke 2004, 2005) have, without justification, considered Thymele virgatus Mabille, 1888 as the female of and synonymous with P. zohra . Thymele virgatus , another taxon (see above under P. omphale ) without a clearly associated male, is here removed from that synonymy since there is yet nothing to indicate its relationship with P. zohra .

Figures

Figure 19-36. Types and associated specimens of Porphyrogenes (ds = dorsal surface, vs = ventral surface). 19) Physalea sororcula Mabille & Boullet, 1912, [holo]type female, ds. 20) same, vs. 21) Bungalotis immaculata Skinner, 1920, [holo]type male, ds. 22) same, vs. 23) Porphyrogenes spanda Evans, 1952 [holo]type male, ds. 24) same, vs. 25) Porphyrogenes spanda, 1952, female associated with [holo]type, ds. 26) same, vs. 27) Porphyrogenes zohra stresa Evans, 1952, [holo]type male, ds. 28) same, vs. 29) Telegonus zohra Möschler, 1879, [holo]type male, ds. 30) same, vs. 31) Ocyba sula Williams & Bell, 1940, holotype male, ds. 32) same, vs. 33) Porphyrogenes glavia Evans, 1952, [holo]type male, ds. 34) same, vs. 35) Porphyrogenes sparta Evans, 1952 [holo]type male, ds. 36) same, vs.

Figure 65-82. Porphyrogenes (ds = dorsal surface, vs = ventral surface). 65) P. probus, male, BRAZIL: Rondônia; Fazenda Rancho Grande, 12 August 1993, ds. 66) same, vs. 67) P. probus, female, BRAZIL: Rondônia; Fazenda Rancho Grande, ex larva, emerged 25 November 1991, ds. 68) same, vs. 69) P. vulpecula, female, BRAZIL: Rio Purus, Hyatanahan (=Husteneã), no date, ds. 70) same, vs. 71) P. sororcula, BRAZIL: Rondônia; Fazenda Rancho Grande, 17 July 1994, ds. 72) same, vs. 73) P. sororcula, female, BRAZIL: Amazonas, Tefé (Ega), Rio Solimões, no date, ds. 74) same, vs. 75) P. spanda, male, BRAZIL: Rondônia; Fazenda Rancho Grande, 22 November 1992, ds. 76) same, vs. 77) P. spanda, female, VENEZUELA: Delta Amacuro (Terr.), Rio Acure, no date, ds. 78) same, vs. 79) P. stresa, male, BRAZIL: Rondônia; Fazenda Rancho Grande, 21 July 1994, ds. 80) same, vs. 81) P. zohra, male, VENEZUELA: Barinas, Rio Caparo Res. Sta, 32 km east of El Caton, 3-5 February 1978, ds. 82) same, vs.

Figure 124-128. Venation and some secondary sexual characters of male Porphyrogenes. Shown is ventral surface including modification of vein 2A and extent of speculum on ventral forewing (irregular line in CuA -2A and anal 2 cell) and origins of veins on hindwing. Insert is of anterior portion of dorsal hindwing showing hair-like tufts. 124) P. zohra, HONDURAS (GTA #8903); 125) P. convexus, holotype, BRAZIL:Rondônia (GTA #2760); 126) P. splendidus, holotype, BOLIVIA (GTA #4182); 127) P. simulator, holotype, BOLIVIA (GTA #4181); 128) P. spadix, holotype, BRAZIL: Rondônia (GTA #3894).

Figure 140-145. Male genitalia of Porphyrogenes; shown are lateral view of uncus, gnathos, tegumen, and saccus; dorsal view of uncus and tegumen; ventral view of uncus and gnathos; juxta; lateral view (with extended vesica) and often dorsal view of aedeagus; internal lateral view of right valva (inset shows the flattened harpe). 140) P. sororcula, BRAZIL: Rondônia (GTA #3493); 141) P. spanda (also including posterior view of harpe), BRAZIL: Rondônia (GTA #3225); 142) P. stresa (also including posterior view of harpe), BRAZIL: Rondônia (GTA #3927); 143) P. zohra (also including posterior view of harpe), HONDURAS (GTA #8903); 144) P. convexus, holotype, BRAZIL: Rondônia (GTA #2760); 145) P. splendidus (also including interior view of left valva), holotype, BOLIVIA (GTA #4182).