Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic Comments on ‘Night’ Skippers, with Descriptions of New Genera and Species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Insecta Mundi Florida March 2008 Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic comments on ‘night’ skippers, with descriptions of new genera and species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae) George T. Austin University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi Part of the Entomology Commons Austin, George T., "Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic comments on ‘night’ skippers, with descriptions of new genera and species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae)" (2008). Insecta Mundi. 120. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/120 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. INSECTA MUNDI A Journal of World Insect Systematics 0029 Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic comments on night skippers, with descriptions of new genera and species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae) George T. Austin McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida P.O. Box 112710, Gainesville, Florida 32611 Date of Issue: March 3, 2008 CENTER FOR SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY, INC., Gainesville, FL George T. Austin Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic comments on night skippers, with descriptions of new genera and species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae) Insecta Mundi 0029: 1-36 Published in 2008 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 147100 Gainesville, FL 32614-7100 U. S. A. http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/ Insecta Mundi is a journal primarily devoted to insect systematics, but articles can be published on any non-marine arthropod taxon. Manuscripts considered for publication include, but are not limited to, systematic or taxonomic studies, revisions, nomenclatural changes, faunal studies, book reviews, phylo- genetic analyses, biological or behavioral studies, etc. Insecta Mundi is widely distributed, and refer- enced or abstracted by several sources including the Zoological Record, CAB Abstracts, etc. As of 2007, Insecta Mundi is published irregularly throughout the year, not as a quarterly issues. As manuscripts are completed they are published and given an individual number. Manuscripts must be peer reviewed prior to submission, after which they are again reviewed by the editorial board to insure quality. One author of each submitted manuscript must be a current member of the Center for System- atic Entomology. Managing editor: Paul E. Skelley, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Production editor: Michael C. Thomas, e-mail: [email protected] Editorial board: J .H. Frank, M. J. Paulsen Printed copies deposited in libraries of: CSIRO, Canberra, ACT, Australia Museu de Zoologia, São Paulo, Brazil Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada The Natural History Museum, London, England Muzeum I Instytut Zoologii Pan, Warsaw, Poland National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL, USA Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA Electronic copies in PDF format: Printed CD mailed to all members at end of year. Florida Center for Library Automation: purl.fcla.edu/fcla/insectamundi Author instructions available on the Insecta Mundi page at: http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/insectamundi/ ISSN 0749-6737 0029: 1-36 2008 Hesperiidae of Rondônia, Brazil: Taxonomic comments on night skippers, with descriptions of new genera and species (Lepidoptera: Eudaminae) George T. Austin McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida P.O. Box 112710, Gainesville, Florida 32611 Abstract. Nineteen species of crepuscular and perhaps nocturnal eudamine skippers (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) included in Evans (1952) group D genera Bungalotis Watson, Salatis Evans, Sarmientoia Berg, Dyscophellus Godman and Salvin, and Nascus Watson occur in the Cacaulândia area of central Rondônia, Brazil. Their relative abundance and phenology there are given. Taxonomic comments and comparisons with published information are made. Bungalotis lactos Evans, 1952, new status, is considered a species separate from Bungalotis borax Evans, 1952. New genera Nicephellus and Euriphellus are proposed for Eudamus nicephorus Hewitson, 1876, and Papilio euribates Stoll, 1782, respectively, removing both from Dyscophellus and creating new combinations. Discophellus porsena Bell, 1934, reinstated status, is raised from synonymy to a full species of Dyscophellus. The subspecies of Dyscophellus ramusis (Stoll, 1781), as presently recognized, are probably good species; Dyscophellus ramon Evans, 1952, new status, is considered a full species. Pseudonascus, new genus, is proposed for Papilio paulliniae Sepp, [1842], removing this species from Nascus and creating a new combination. Two new species, Bungalotis aureus from Ecuador and Dyscophellus mielkei from Rondônia, Brazil, are described. Male and female genitalia are illustrated for all taxa available from the Rondonian study site plus some from other areas. Key Words: Central America, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, South America. Introduction A number of species of neotropical Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) are active in the late afternoon, usually just before sunset, continue to fly until after dark, and occasionally are encountered in the early morning. One group of large-sized Eudaminae Mabille, 1877 particularly exhibits this crepuscular (and possibly nocturnal) behavior (Mielke 1967a, Biezanko and Mielke 1973, DeVries 1983, Brown 1992, Nuñez Bustos 2006, Austin, unpublished data) and their presence at dusk is often known by the hummingbird-like sound of their wings in flight. As a consequence, they are relatively rarely observed, are only fortuitously encountered by diurnal lepidopterists, but, at times, some may be attracted to lights during the night (Mielke 1973, de Jong 1983, Cock and Alston-Smith 1990, Miller et al. 2006, Austin, pers. obs.). At least some of these species also visit flowers for nectar (Darrault and Schlindwein 2005). These night skippers treated herein are the first five genera of Evans (1952) group D: Bungalotis E. Y. Watson, 1893; Salatis Evans, 1952; Sarmientoia Berg, 1897; Dyscophellus Godman and Salvin, 1893; and Nascus E. Y. Watson, 1893. Intensive investigations of the butterfly fauna near Cacaulândia in central Rondônia, Brazil, ongo- ing since 1989 (Emmel 1989, Emmel and Austin 1990, Austin et al., in press), have included an emphasis on the behavior (Austin et al. 1993, DeVries et al., in press) and taxonomy (Austin 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000; Austin and Steinhauser 1996; Austin et al. 1997; Austin and Mielke 1997, 2000) of hesperiids. Nineteen species of the above listed genera were encountered during these studies of which one Dyscophellus is undescribed. In addition, a new species of Bungalotis from Ecuador was discovered among comparative material. The species of these genera are discussed herein, three new genera are proposed, and the two new species are described. Most individuals were found associated with army ants (Hy- menoptera: Formicidae: Ecitoninae) or were attracted to paper lures (Austin et al. 1993). By far, the most comprehensive local treatment of this group of species, including information on their life history (see also Moss 1949, Janzen and Hallwachs 2005) was by Cock and Alston-Smith (1990) in Trinidad. Forewing (FW) measurements are from Rondonian material unless noted otherwise. Genitalia are illustrated for males and females of all species that were readily available and will provide a starting point for future investigations. Male genitalia of these genera have not been widely illustrated; those shown by Evans (1952) often look somewhat different from the few other published figures and reality, or even may 1 2 I NSECTA M UNDI 0029, March, 2008 AUSTIN Figure 1-12. Bungalotis (from BRAZIL: Rondônia, unless noted otherwise; dorsum and venter of same specimens). 1-2) B. erythus male, 5 km S of Cacaulândia, 19 Dec 1993. 3-4) B. midas male, Fazenda Rancho Grande, 19 Jul 1994. 5-6) B. midas female, 5 km S of Cacaulândia, 9 Jan 1994. 7-8) B. aureus holotype male, data in text. 9, 12) B. milleri female, MEXICO: Veracruz; Catemaco, 21 Jul 1981. 10-11) Bungalotis sp. (midas group) female, GUATEMALA: Petén; El Remate, Cerro Cahul, 29 Sep 1994. represent undescribed taxa. Female genitalia of the various genera have not previously been described or illustrated except for certain Sarmientoia by Mielke (1967a). The genera treated here frequently have a broad, often bulbous caudad, ductus bursae (sensu Burns 1996) that is joined cephalad of its caudal end by a usually membranous tube leading from an often sclerotized antrum. Full synonymies are given by Mielke (2005). Voucher specimens are deposited at the Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil and the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. HESPERIIDAE OF R ONDÔNIA, BRAZIL INSECTA MUNDI 0029, March, 2008 3 Figure 13. Bungalotis midas male at paper lure, BRAZIL: Rondônia, Fazenda Rancho Grande (photograph by Andrei Sourakov).