Gavara velutina Walker, 1857

Taberer, Tabitha R. & László, Gyula M., 2022, A contribution to the knowledge of the slug moths (Zygaenoidea: Limacodidae) of the Maputo Special Reserve, Metamorphosis 33 (1), pp. 6-20 : 7-8

Gavara velutina Walker, 1857 ( Figs 4–7 , 50 )

Gavara velutina Walker, 1857 , List of Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum, 12: 771. Type locality: South Africa, Port Natal. Holotype, male (NHMUK).

Material examined: Mozambique, MSR. 3 males, West Gate (Sand Forest, Sand Thicket), 22 m, 26°30′14.2″S, 32°42′59.6″E, 9–17.ii.2018, László, G., Mulvaney, J., Smith, L. leg. ANHRT:2018.2, gen. slide No. LG 5703 (male) ; 1 male, same site and collectors, 24–25.ii.2018 ; 1 male, same site and collectors, 13–15.ii.2018 ; 1 female, same site, 21–30.xi.2016, Aristophanous, M., Cristóvão, J., László, G., Miles, W. leg., ANHRT:2017.22 ; 1 male, Futi Corridor (Sand Forest Woodland Mosaic), 17 m, 26°32′10.1″S, 32°43′09.7″E, 23–24.ii.2018, László, G., Mulvaney, J., Smith, L. leg. ANHRT:2018.2.

Distribution: Our research has found this species to occur in MSR, which is a new record for Mozambique. This species is also known from Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Figures

Figures 1–13. Adults (collected in the MSR and deposited in coll. ANHRT). 1 – Caffricola vicina, female; 2 – ibidem, male; 3 – ibidem, male; 4 – G. velutina, female; 5 – ibidem, male; 6 – ibidem, male; 7 – ibidem, male; 8 – Halseyia biumbrata, male; 9 – ibidem, male; 10 – Macroplectra rufopallens, male; 11 – ibidem, male; 12 – Parapluda invitabilis, female; 13 – ibidem, male.

Figures 50–52. Male genitalia of Limacodidae (a: clasping apparatus; b: phallus). 50 – Gavara velutina (MSR), genitalia slide No. LG5703 (ANHRT); 51 – Unidentified Limacodinae sp. (MSR), genitalia slide no. LG 5704 (ANHRT); 52 – Trogocrada deleter (MSR), genitalia slide No. TT 074 (ANHRT).