The Glaphyriinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, with Keys to the Neotropical Species of Hellula Guenée
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The Glaphyriinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, with keys to the Neotropical species of Hellula Guenée Bernard Landry & Lazaro Roque-Albelo The subfamily Glaphyriinae (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) is recorded from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, for the first time on the basis of two species of Hellula Guenée, 1854: Hellula phidilealis (Walker, 1859) and H. galapagensis Landry sp. n. The new species is described and both species are illustrated. Two illustrated keys based on external characters and genitalia to the Neotropical species of Hellula are provided. Hellula phidilealis was reared on Cleome viscosa L. (Capparidaceae) in the Galapagos. Hellula kempae Munroe is reported from Cuba for the first time. Resumen: La subfamilia Glaphyriinae (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) es registrada por primera vez para las Islas Galapagos, Ecuador basada en dos especies de Hellula Guenée, 1854: Hellula phidilealis (Walker, 1859) y H. galapagensis Landry sp. n. La nueva especie es descrita y ambas especies son ilustradas. Dos claves ilustradas, basadas en los caracteres externos y en la genitalia, son proveidas para la identificación de las especies Neotropicales de Hellula. Hellula phidilealis fue criada en Cleome viscosa L. (Capparidaceae) en las Galapagos. Hellula kempae Munroe es registrada por primera vez para Cuba. Bernard Landry*, Muséum d’histoire naturelle, C. P. 6434, CH-1211, Geneva, Switzerland. [email protected]; Lazaro Roque-Albelo, Charles Darwin Research Station, A.P. 17-01-3891, Quito, Ecuador. [email protected] Introduction This paper is part of a series initiated by the first The Glaphyriinae comprise about 200 species of author (BL) to document the Microlepidoptera of the small to midsized moths distributed mainly in the Galapagos archipelago (e.g., Landry & Gielis 1992, New World, with a few species of the genus Hellula Landry 2002, Landry et al. 2006) and the fourth of Guenée, 1854 in the Old World (Munroe & Solis the series to treat Pyraloidea. We have adopted a con- 1998). Hellula includes ten or eleven putatively valid cept of family Pyralidae that includes all Pyraloidea species (Beccaloni et al. 2003, Munroe 1995, Nuss taxa (see Landry & Roque-Albelo 2006) although et al. 2006, and present data). Three Hellula species Munroe & Solis (1998) consider that the super- (H. undalis (Fabricius, 1781), H. phidilealis (Walker, family consists of two families, the Crambidae and 1859), and H. rogatalis (Hulst, 1886)), are serious Pyralidae, with the Glaphyriinae included in the pests of Brassicaceae, and the latter two are also Crambidae. known to feed on Amaranthaceae and Portulacaceae Two keys based on external characters and genita- (Munroe 1972, Solis & Adamski 1998, Zimmerman lia are presented here for the five described species 1958). that occur or could occur in the Neotropical region Two species of Hellula occur in the Galapagos, (H. galapagensis sp. n., H. kempae Munroe, 1972, H. phidilealis and a new species, described below. H. phidilealis, H. rogatalis, and H. undalis), exclusive Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 151: 193–203, Figs. 1– 21. [ISSN 0040–7496]. http://www.nev.nl/tve © 2008 Nederlandse Entomologische Vereniging. Published 1 December 2008. * Corresponding author 194 Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, volume 151, 2008 of Hellula simplicalis Herrich-Schäffer, 1871, with numbers separated by horizontal black line], “[male described on the basis of one specimen from Cuba sign] | Pyralidae | Brit. Mus. | Slide No. | 10719” [square, which could not be found in museums in Berlin, with text in red except from male sign and number]. Deposited in BMNH. Cuba, or Philadelphia (pers. comms. to BL by W. Mey, Alejandro Barro and V. Becker, and J. Wein- First of the two syntypes of P. trypheropa (Fig. 2). Female, traub, respectively). Moreover, following its descrip- with labels as follows: “Timotes (Venez.) | 6.7.1934 | Faren- tion, H. simplicalis was only recorded in various lists, holtz E. 6687” [rectangular], “Phyratocosma | trypheropa without additional information (Gundlach 1881, Meyr. | teste Meyr. [with four subsequent undecipherable letters]” [rectangular, bordered black, with last line sepa- Munroe 1995), although neither Torre y Callejas rated from first two by horizontal black line]. Deposited (1967) nor Alayo & Valdes (1982) mentioned it. The in UMB. other two described Hellula species of the Western Hemisphere (H. aqualis Barnes & McDunnough, Second of the two syntypes of P. trypheropa (Fig. 3). 1914, and H. subbasalis (Dyar, 1923)) occur only Female, with labels as follows: “Para- | type” [round, ringed in the Nearctic region from the Big Bend region yellow], “Timotes | Venezuela | F. .7.34”, “Meyrick Coll. | of Texas west to the San Diego region of southern B.M. 1838-290.” [upside down], “trypheropa Meyr.”, “PHYRATOCOSMA Meyr.”, “Phyratocosma | tryphe- California; they were illustrated with a key to identify ropa | 1/1 Meyrick | E. Meyrick det. | in Meyrick Coll.”, them (Munroe 1972). Hellula kempae was described “B.M. Pyralidae | Genitalia Slide | [female sign] No. from Florida, but it occurs also in Cuba (Cienaga 21119”. Deposited in BMNH. Zapata, near Playa Larga) based on specimens exam- ined by BL and deposited in the USNM. Although 10 males (2 dissected) and 15 females (3 dissected) collect- Hellula undalis is originally an Old World species, ed at light or reared in the Galapagos Islands. Deposited in described from Italy, it seems probable that it will CDRS and MHNG. reach the Western Hemisphere eventually as it has reached the Hawaiian Islands (Zimmerman 1958) Diagnosis and it is a crop pest. Hellula rogatalis was described With a wingspan of 13.0 to 18.0 mm (n=31) Hellula from Texas, U.S.A., but it occurs as well in Mexico phidilealis is one of the large species of the genus. (Distrito Federal, V. Becker, pers. comm.) and is Its forewing (Figs 1-3) has contrasting white trans- likely to spread in the Neotropical region given its verse lines and a dark brown reniform spot suffused pest status on Brassicaceae crops, if it has not done with shining blue scales on an olive background. so already. Its hindwing is basally semi-transparent with a dis- The following additional abbreviations are used tinctly darker apex and often a visible subapical line, below: AMNH for American Museum of Natural especially in the cubital sector. The male genitalia History, New York, New York, U.S.A., BMNH for (Fig. 11) have relatively narrow valvae adorned ven- Natural History Museum, London, England, CDRS troapically with thin, symmetrical spines, and the for Charles Darwin Research Station, Santa Cruz dorsal setose section of the valva is relatively wide in Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, MHNG for Muséum being about ¾ the width of the ventral hairy section. d’histoire naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland, UMB for In female genitalia (Fig. 17) the corpus bursae has Übersee Museum Bremen, Germany, and USNM the spined narrower distal section distally as wide as for the National Museum of Natural History, its base, with the ductus seminalis apicolateral. The Washington, D.C., U.S.A. species can be separated from the other Neotropical species of Hellula by the characters used in the keys below. One specimen of H. phidilealis from Cuba Galapagos species (slide BL 1628, USNM) had three cornuti on its vesica instead of the usual two. Hellula phidilealis (Walker) Distribution and natural history Figs 1-3, 11, 17 This species is widely distributed from the south of Leucochroma? phidilealis Walker, 1859: 972. the U.S.A. into Central and South America; it is a Phyratocosma trypheropa Meyrick, 1936: 323, pl. 13 fig. 9. pest of Amaranthaceae and Brassicaceae (Munroe 1972). It is rather common on the Galapagos Islands, Material examined. Holotype of L. phidilealis where it has been collected on Baltra, Floreana, Isa- (Fig. 1). Male, with labels as follows: “Type” [small, bela, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Santiago at round, ringed green], “Vene-|zuela” [small, round, pale elevations between sea level to 329 m (on Floreana) blue], “LEUCOCHROMA ? PHIDILEALIS.” [heading in January until May, September, November, and of Walker’s published description], “1955 | 283” [square, December. We have also examined seven specimens .