Athis clitarcha ( Westwood, 1877 )

Berghe, Eric Den, 2020, Synopsis of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) from Honduras and Nicaragua, Central America, Zootaxa 4895 (2), pp. 272-284 : 278

Athis clitarcha ( Westwood, 1877)

( Fig. 1G )

Castnia clitarcha Westwood, 1877 (in part; females): 176, lam. 31, figs. 1-2 [¿? Panama, ¿? Nicaragua]. [ Lamas (1995) mentions Panama as a typical locality]

Castnia clitarcha Westwood ; Druce, 1883: 27, lam. 3, fig. 7 [Druce mentioned the type locality as Panama, he also mentions that the Ƌ illustrated by Westwood is Castnia inca , possibly a Ƌ from Nicaragua] [The ssp. inca have a wide distribution from Mexico to Honduras, thus Westwood specímens are probably clitarcha ].

Castnia clitarcha Westwood ; Miller, 1972:3-4, figs. 6, 11-14 [ Miller (1972) also considers that only the ♀ Type of Westwood (1877) is clitarcha but does not solve the problem of the localities; She also mentions Nicaragua and Panama as type localities]

Athis clitarcha (Westwood) , Miller, 1995:133.

Athis clitarcha (Westwood) ; Maes, 1999:1236-1237.

Athis clitarcha, Chacón & Montero, 2007 : pl 23.

Athis clitarcha (Westwood) , Miller et al., 2012: 10.

Athis clitarcha (Westwood) ; González & Hernández-Baz, 2012:148 [mention that the populations of Athis inca and Athis clitarcha overlap in Honduras and Guatemala].

Originally described by Westwood (1877; as Castnia clitarcha ) it was separated from Athis inca inca ( Walker, 1854) by the contrasting color of the forewings and different markings and coloring in the hindwings. However, Miller (1972) mentions that the single characters mentioned by Westwood (1877) and Strand (1913) “should not be employed by themselves,” as they are not enough to grant separation. She also mentions that both species overlap in their geographical range, but they could be easily separated by comparing their genitalia ( Miller 1972).

Material examined: HONDURAS: 1 ♀, Castnia clitarcha Wtw , Collection Wm Schaus, USNM ENT 00475754 , Allyn Museum Photo No 091872A 9-10, Slide No M-1771, Jacqueline Miller , Castnia clitarcha Westwood ♀, det. Jacqueline Miller, 1972 ( AMNH); 1 Ƌ, Atlántida, Rio Bonito CURLA camp 8km W 5 km S La Ceiba; 15°42´6”N 86°50´48”W, 150 m, 3. VI .2001, col. R. Lehman, CURLA Lep 04142 ( CURLA); 1 Ƌ, Atlántida, Rio Bo-nito CURLA camp 8km W 5 km S La Ceiba; 150 m, 12. VI .2009, F. Martínez, CURLALep04143 ( CURLA); 1 Ƌ, Honduras (no more data) ( UNAH) [even though this specimen does not have any other data, it is assumed to be from Honduras because it is in this Honduras collection]; 1 Ƌ, Francisco Morazán, Uyuca , 1.X.2000 , col. J. Torres, ex pupa, 57.333 EAPZ ( EAPZ); 1 Ƌ, Francisco Morazán, Uyuca, Estación Biológica , 14° 2’2.84”N, 87° 4’ 30.85”W, 1650m, 3-4. VI .2016, specimen was found posed on ground at night, not within sight of any light source col. E.v.d. Berghe + Grant ( EVDB) ; 1 ♀, El Paraiso, Yuscaran, Cerro Montserrat , 15.XI.1995, col. J. Ortega, ex Tillandsia creogenes (EAPZ) ; 1 Ƌ , 1 ♀, Honduras ( NMNH-SI) .

Figures

FIGURE 1: Giant butterfly-moths (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) from Honduras and Nicaragua. A. Ƌ, Telchin cacica procera (Boisduval, [1875]), Morazán, Honduras (UNAH, Honduras); B. Ƌ, Telchin atymnius drucei (Schaus, 1911), Honduras (Streck- er Collection, FMNH, Chicago, USA); C. ♀, Telchin atymnius futilis (Walker, 1856), Atlántida, Honduras (CURLA, Honduras); D. Ƌ, Telchin evalthe viryi (Boisduval, [1875]), Honduras (Strecker Collection, FMNH, Chicago, USA); E. Ƌ, Telchin diva diva (Butler, 1870), Carazo, Nicaragua (MEL, Nicaragua); F. Ƌ, Telchin licus microsticta (Rothschild, 1919), Atlántida, Honduras (CURLA); G. Ƌ, (Type), Athis inca inca Walker, 1854, Honduras (NHMUK, London); H. Ƌ, Athis clitarcha (Westwood, 1877), Atlántida, Honduras (CURLA); I. ♀, Prometheus zagraea salvina (Westwood, 1877), Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua (EVDB). Scale: 10 mm.