Research Article |
Corresponding author: Héctor A. Vargas ( lepvargas@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Bernard Landry
© 2020 Héctor A. Vargas.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Vargas HA (2020) Adaina jobimi sp. nov., a plume moth (Lepidoptera, Pterophoridae) associated with Baccharis alnifolia (Asteraceae) in the Andes of northern Chile. Nota Lepidopterologica 43: 329-336. https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.43.57965
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The adult stage of the plume moth Adaina jobimi sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae: Pterophorinae: Oidaematophorini) from the arid highlands of the western slopes of the Andes of northern Chile is described and illustrated. The wing pattern and genitalia of A. jobimi resemble those of A. excreta Meyrick, 1930, from Argentina, Ecuador and Peru and A. coquimboae Gielis, 2012, the only representative of the genus previously known from Chile. Morphological differences of A. jobimi with these two congenerics are discussed. Larval feeding and pupation of A. jobimi occur on inflorescences of the native shrub Baccharis alnifolia Meyen & Walp. (Asteraceae). The discovery of A. jobimi provides the first record of the genus in a long distribution gap in mainland South America west of the Andes Range, suggesting that the taxonomic diversity of Adaina in this area deserves further attention.
Adaina Tutt, 1905 (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae: Pterophorinae: Oidaematophorini) is a mainly New World genus of plume moths also represented in the Afrotropical, Australian, Oriental and Palearctic regions (
The endemic Adaina coquimboae Gielis, 2012, whose geographic range is restricted to the lowlands of the north-central part of Chile, is the only representative of the genus currently known from this country (
Florivorous larvae were found within inflorescences of the native shrub Baccharis alnifolia Meyen & Walp. (Asteraceae) in March 2018 about 2 km south of Socoroma village (18°27’22”S, 69°35’15”W), Parinacota Province, northern Chile, at about 3400 m elevation on the western slopes of the Andes. The climate of the site is tropical xeric, with seasonal rains concentrated mainly in summer (
IDEA Colección Entomológica de la Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile
Holotype
, male, Chile: Socoroma, Parinacota, Chile; emerged April 2018; H.A. Vargas leg.; ex-larva inflorescence Baccharis alnifolia; March 2018; genitalia slide HAV-1389 (specimen and genitalia slide deposited at
Paratypes , Chile. Three males (genitalia slides HAV-1142, HAV-1385, HAV-1387), one female (genitalia slide HAV-1386), same data as for holotype (specimens and genitalia slides deposited at IDEA).
About 2 km south of Socoroma village (18°27’22”S, 69°35’15”W), Parinacota Province, northern Chile, at about 3400 m elevation on the western slopes of the Andes.
Adaina jobimi resembles the Neotropical Adaina excreta Meyrick, 1930, described from Peru, also known from Argentina and Ecuador. However, the two species can be separated accurately based on genitalia morphology. In the male, A. jobimi has the saccular spine of the left valva almost straight along the medial third with the distal third curved towards the costa, a small saccular process on the right valva, juxta narrower dorsally, right arm of the anellus triangular, tip of phallus slightly swollen dorsally and vesica with a V-shaped cornutus, while A. excreta has a waved saccular process on the left valva, lacks a saccular process on the right valva, the juxta is almost parallel-sided, the right arm of the anellus is curved, the phallus tip is acute and the cornutus is plate-like. In A. jobimi females, the ostium bursae displaced to left and the laterally more thickly sclerotized antrum differ from A. excreta in which the ostium bursae is centrally positioned and the antrum is tridentate. Adaina jobimi can also be separated accurately from the only other representative of the genus in Chile, A. coquimboae. The dark brown spot at base of the cleft is small, not well-defined in A. jobimi, while this spot is distinct and larger in A. coquimboae. In the male genitalia, the distally curved saccular spine and the V-shaped cornutus of A. jobimi differ from the straight saccular spine and absence of a cornutus in A. coquimboae. In the female genitalia, A. jobimi has an inwardly curved anterior apophysis and parallel-sided antrum, while A. coquimboae has a blunt anterior apophysis and gradually narrowing antrum.
Adult stage of Adaina jobimi sp. nov. 1. Holotype male in dorsal view. 2. Male genitalia, phallus removed. 3. Phallus. 4. Saccular process of left valva (square in Fig.
(Fig.
Head. Vertex yellowish brown, appressedly scaled. Frons grayish brown, appressedly scaled. Occiput yellowish brown, narrow erect scales. Labial palpus porrect, yellowish brown; first segment with flat, erect scales, slightly projected below the compound eye; second and third segments with appressed scales. Antenna filiform, yellowish brown dorsally, short cilia ventrally.
Thorax. Yellowish brown, scales appressed. Foreleg yellowish brown, coxa with a wide dark brown longitudinal stripe, femur with two narrow dark brown longitudinal stripes, tibia with a wide dark brown longitudinal stripe, tarsus grayish brown, first tarsomere with a narrow dark brown longitudinal stripe. Midleg yellowish brown, two and one narrow dark brown longitudinal stripes on femur and tibia, respectively, tibial spurs grayish brown, tarsus grayish brown. Hindleg yellowish brown, tibial spurs grayish brown, proximal pair with medial spur slightly longer than lateral one. Forewing dorsum mainly yellowish brown; a small, not well-defined dark brown spot at base of cleft; first lobe with a longitudinal dark brown costal spot at about 1/3 from cleft base to apex, a small dark brown spot at apex and a small dark brown spot at about 2/3 on the anal margin, fringe yellowish brown; second lobe with a small dark brown spot at apex and a few small, not well-defined dark brown spots along the anal margin, fringe yellowish brown. Forewing venter mainly dark brown, changing to yellowish brown on first lobe. Hindwing dorsum grayish brown; fringe yellowish brown. Hindwing venter dark brown. Venous scales dark brown.
Abdomen. Yellowish brown with few scattered grayish brown and dark brown scales.
Male genitalia (Figs
Similar to male in size and colouration.
Female genitalia (Fig.
The host plant of A. jobimi is Baccharis alnifolia Meyen & Walp. (Asteraceae) (Figs
Adaina jobimi is known only from the type locality, about 2 km south of Socoroma village, at about 3400 m elevation on the western slopes of the Andes of northern Chile (Fig.
The name of the new species is dedicated to the memory of the great Brazilian musician Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, best known as Tom Jobim, for his huge contribution to the development of the “Música Popular Brasileira” and his admiration of nature.
Many Neotropical species of Adaina were described in the last 30 years, either before (
The morphology of the saccular processes, juxta and cornuti in the male genitalia, and tergum VIII, ostium bursae and anterior apophyses in the female genitalia provide useful characters for species identification in Adaina (
Adaina jobimi is the second member of the genus described from Chile. The only other Chilean representative, the endemic A. coquimboae, inhabits the lowlands of the north-central part of the country between about 30°S and 32°S, almost 1300 km south of the type locality of A. jobimi. Despite this long distance, A. coquimboae is geographically the nearest congeneric west of the Andes. The sampling gap between them certainly deserves further attention. Adaina jobimi is known only from the type locality. However, surveys throughout the geographic range of its host plant, B. alnifolia, in the mountain environments of northern Chile and southern Peru (
Remarkable morphological differences have been described between larvae and pupae of external and internal feeder species of Adaina (
Finally, the discovery of A. jobimi represents the first record of the genus in a long distribution gap in mainland South America west of the Andes Range (between Ecuador and central Chile), and provides a new example of the overlooked diversity of micromoths associated with plants native to the arid environments of the western slopes of the Andes that deserves further attention.
I thank Deborah Matthews, Cees Gielis and Bernard Landry for kind comments and suggestions that significantly improved a previous version of the manuscript, Sebastián Espinoza-Donoso for editing the figures and Lafayette Eaton for checking the English.