Sovia lii Xue

Xue, Guo-Xi, Li, Meng, Nan, Wen-Hao, Jia, Xing-Long, Huang, Si-Yao, Sun, Hao & Li, Xiao-Juan, 2015, A new species of the genus Sovia (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Qinling-Daba Mountains of China, Zootaxa 3985 (4), pp. 583-590 : 584-586

Sovia lii Xue spec. nov.

( Figs. 1–6 , 7–15 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: Zhanghe, Langao, Shaanxi, China, 1100 m, 11. VII. 2013, G. X. Xue, W. H. Nan & X. L. Jia leg.

PARATYPES: 16 ♂, ditto; 3 ♂, ditto, 30. VII. 2012, Y. F. Li leg.; 1 ♂, Shangzhu, Zhenping, Shaanxi, China, 1100 m, 11. VII. 2014, G. X. Xue & M. Li leg.; 2 ♂, Kangxian, Gansu, China, 17. VII. 2014, S. Y. Huang leg.

Description. ♂ ( Figs. 1–6 ) Antennae: 9–9.5 mm in length, dark brown, club with gray scales ventrally, apiculus sharply pointed. Labial palpi: second segment covered with yellowish hairs and scales; third segment porrect, thicker than the shaft of antennae, black dorsally, yellow ventrally, and with a blunt point. Thorax and abdomen: black dorsally, the ventral side of thorax as well as the legs covered with brown hairs, the ventral side of abdomen gray. Forewing: 14–15 mm in length, dorsal side dark brown, spots white; apical spots in spaces r3–r5 arranged in line, cell spot near discocellular; spot in space cu1 closer to the one in m3 than to cell spot; the black stigma originates in the middle of vein 2A; ventral side of forewing with its costal area yellowish, discal area dark brown, apical and dorsumal area gray, spots repeat those on dorsal side. Hindwing: dorsally dark brown and unmarked, dorsumal area covered with hairs; ventral side broadly clad with dull yellowish scales, with an about 1.5 mm-wide dark margin, spots black; end of cell with a faint upper spot, a series of submarginal spots from space sc+r1 to cu1 forming a curved row, parallel to termen. Cilia white, checkered with dark brown at the end of the veins.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 7–15 ): Tegumen produced forwards, semicircular in dorsal view. Uncus one and a half times longer than the tegumen, nearly rectangular in shape, with its width one third of its length in dorsal view, the middle of each side slightly curved inwards, the posterior angle pointed, and the tip almost flat. Lateral process finger-like, one third of the uncus length. Gnathos three quarters of the length of the uncus, bifid. Saccus short. Valva broad, with its dorsal distal portion shallowly bifid, its apical margin round and covered with dense sharp teeth. Harpe robust and pointed, with several small spines. Footstalk very short, nearly vestigial. Aedeagus a little shorter than the valva, with its suprazonal sheath somewhat shorter than the subzonal sheath; its dorsal margin deeply concaved; its ventral margin ridge-like in lateral view. Juxta broadly v-shaped.

Female: Unknown.

Variability. The cell spot on forewing usually inclined outwards, or almost perpendicular to dorsum, with its size changing from normal to slender. Submarginal spots on ventral side of hindwing mostly fully developed and presented, but the two in spaces m1–m2 sometimes smaller or even absent; in one paratype, the whole series of these spots disappeared with only obscure trace left. In most of the materials, the dark marginal area on ventral side of hindwing is divided by the paler veins through it.

Distribution. S. Gansu (Kangxian), S. Shaanxi (Langao, Zhenping).

Bionomics. Probably the new species is univoltine, and it has been only found in late July until now. The adult flies near villages and streams ( Fig. 16 ), prefers Buddleja officinalis Maximowicz as nectar source plant, and perches with the posture of forewings semi-erect and hindwings flat. It is found sympatrically with Sovia lucasii at Zhanghe, the type locality, but it seems that the two species keep to their own territories and never mix with each other.

Etymology. The new species is named after Mr. Yu-Fei Li, who is an enthusiastic butterfly collector in Xi’an and provides kind helps to the first author’s study on Hesperiidae .

Diagnosis. The new species resembles Sovia subflava in having cell spot on forewing inclined outwards, directed to a point on vein 2A nearer the lower end of the stigma than termen, but it differs greatly from the latter in: 1) ventral side of hindwing dull, with a wide dark margin; 2) uncus almost rectangular in shape, not tapered; 3) distal portion of valva rounded, with a much stronger harpe.

In terms of male genitalia, the new species is allied to Sovia lucasii ( Figs. 17–22 , 23–26 ). According to the specimens examined, the variability of S. lucasii can be summarized as following: ground color on ventral side of hindwing from yellow to dull brown; black spots in spaces sc+r1, rs, m3 and cu1 always exist, but spaces m1–m2 usually blank or with indistinct trace of tiny black dots; marginal area with sparser scales than other portion of the wing and thus seems slightly darker, in some individuals this area becomes an about 1.5 mm-wide conspicuous dark margin. Forewing length of the materials from W. Sichuan is 15–16.5 mm, while that of the specimens from S. Shaanxi 14–14.5 mm with thinner cell spot, indicating the population in Daba Mountains may represent a separated subspecific race.

Although both Sovia lii and S. lucasii have variable wing patterns, the new species can be distinguished from the latter by the following characters: cell spot on forewing slant outwards or almost perpendicular to dorsum, tip of uncus nearly flat, lateral process straight, teeth on apical margin of valva more developed, harpe more robust. External and genital characters of the new species are prominently different from the other species of the genus.

Figures

FIGURE 16. Wen-Hao Nan (left) and Xing-Long Jia (right) collecting Sovia lii at the type locality, showing the habitat of the new species. Photo by Guo-Xi Xue.

FIGURES 1 – 6. Adults of Sovia lii. a. dorsal view; b. ventral view. 1. holotype, 2 – 6. paratypes. Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURES 7 – 15. Male genitalia of Sovia lii. 7. ring in lateral view; 8. ring in oblique view; 9. uncus in dorsal view; 10. uncus in ventral view; 11. inner side of valva; 12. outer side of valva; 13. aedeagus in lateral view; 14. aedeagus in dorsal view; 15. juxta.

FIGURES 17 – 22. Adults of Sovia lucasii. a. dorsal view; b. ventral view. 17 – 21. from W. Sichuan, 22. from S. Shaanxi. Scale bar = 1 cm.

FIGURES 23 – 26. Male genitalia of Sovia lucasii. 23. genital capsule in lateral view, with left valva removed; 24. uncus in dorsal view; 25. outer side of valva; 26. inner side of valva.