Siculodes satellifera (Gaede, 1936)

(Figs 4, 21, 31)

Risama satellifera Gaede, 1936, in Seitz. Die Gross -Schmetterlinge des Amerikanischen Faunengebietes. Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer, 6: 1207, fig. 175b (d); [holo] type, Minas Geraes [Gerais], [Brazil], III-1930, Seitz leg., Senckenberg Museum, [Frankfurt am Main] [MSFR].

Siculodes satellifera; Whalley & Heppner, 1995, Thyridoidea, in Becker et al. Checklist: Part 2, Hyblaeoidea— Pyraloidea—Tortricoidea, in Heppner (ed.). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera, 3: 31.

Taxonomic history. Gaede (1936) described and illustrated the species based on one single specimen from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Originally described in Risama, the species was later transferred to Siculodes by Whalley & Heppner (1995).

Type material. A female, regarded as type and here considered the holotype for the species, was found in MSFR, with the author’s original labels matching the information provided in the original description: / Typus / Araguary (Minas) März 1930 A. Seitz leg. / Risama satellifera Gd det. M. Gaede / Senckenb. Mus. / 3 / Fotografiert 2014 H. Thöny /.

Diagnosis. Siculodes satellifera can be easily distinguished from S. aurorula and all its congeners by wings overall light brown, brown streaks, defined dark brown, and pink spots on ventral surface and semi-translucid spots on hindwing (Figs 4A–D) as in S. aurorula, but in the latter there is only one. In addition, by combination of the following characters: i) corpus bursae elongated with no clear delimitation of end of the ductus bursae (Fig. 21) and ii) signum two parallel bands (Fig. 31).

Redescription. Forewing: length—female 19.0–25.0 mm (n = 3); costal margin curved distally; apex slightly projecting; tornus convex; retinaculum above CuA.

Hindwing: length—female 15.0–18.0 mm (n = 3); four semi-translucent spots, with largest in discal cell and others around it; tornus sinuous.

Male genitalia unknown.

Female genitalia (Fig. 21): tergite VIII rectangular in lateral view; anterior apophysis twice longer than posterior apophysis; posterior portion of ductus bursae slightly sclerotized, proximal half membranous and of equal width, distal half progressively widening to indistinctly form corpus bursae, signum forming two parallel bands (Fig. 31); papilla analis one and a half times wider than long.

Geographic distribution (Fig. 43). BRAZIL: Distrito Federal: Brasília. Minas Gerais: Araguari.

Natural history. Immature stages and host plant unknown. Based on specimen label data, the species occurs in the Cerrado, adults were caught in February and March.

Examined material (3 ♀).

BRAZIL: Distrito Federal: Brasília, 1 ♀, 25.II.1966, OM 8722 (OM) . Minas Gerais: 1 ♀, II.1929, R. Seitz leg. (MSFR), Araguari, 1 ♀ ([Holo]type of Siculodes satellifera), III.1930, A. Seitz leg. (MSFR) .