[1882] (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) from Mexico

LARS KROGMANN & HANS RIEFENSTAHL, New species of Alcathoe H. EDWARDS, [1882] from Mexico

A new species of Alcathoe H. EDWARDS, [1882] (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) from Mexico ● LARS KROGMANN & HANS RIEFENSTAHL

Abstract. A new clearwing moth species from Mexico, Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov., is described (Guerrero and Oaxaca provinces). A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. can be differentiated from the orange-red colored species A. autumnalis ENGELHARDT, 1946, A. korites (DRUCE, 1883) and A. pepsioides ENGELHARDT, 1925 by the absence of hyaline areas on the hindwings. A deeper differential diagnosis for A. verrugo (DRUCE, 1884) and A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. is presented, revealing distinct differences in the genital morphology. The female of the new species is unknown.

Zusammenfassung. Eine neue Glasflüglerart, Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov., wird aus Mexiko (Provinzen Guerrero und Oaxaca) beschrieben. Durch das Fehlen von Glasfeldern auf den Hinterflügeln lässt sich A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. leicht von den orangerot gefärbten Arten A. autumnalis ENGELHARDT, 1946, A. korites (DRUCE, 1883) und A. pepsioides ENGELHARDT, 1925 unterscheiden. Zu A. verrugo (DRUCE, 1884) wird eine weitergehende Differentialdiagnose erstellt, nach der sich A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. durch ihre Genitalmorphologie deutlich abgrenzen lässt. Das Weibchen der neuen Art ist unbekannt.

Key words. Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov., Lepidoptera, Sesiidae, clearwing moth, Mexico, taxonomy.

Introduction The genus Alcathoe H. EDWARDS, 1882 is restricted to the Nearctic and Neotropical regions (HEPPNER & DUCKWORTH 1981). Males of this genus differ from the majority of other clearwing moth species by having a caudal appendage on the eighth abdominal segment (EDWARDS 1882, EICHLIN & DUCKWORTH 1988). Most species of Alcathoe are further characterized by their black or orange-red colored wings probably mimicking pompilid wasps of the subfamily Pepsinae (ENGELHARDT 1946, EICHLIN & DUCKWORTH 1988) (Fig. 4). Because of some black model species, the melanistic Alcathoe forms that occur together with their orange-red colored counterparts, could also profit from the Batesian mimicry. The south American species A. leucopyga BRYK, 1953 and A. melini BRYK, 1953 are the only Alcathoe species with almost completely hyaline wings, thus bearing no resemblance to the wasps mentioned above. Alcathoe species are rarely collected and the last descriptions of new species date

back to the middle of the last century. All nine described species of this genus are listed below together with their hitherto known distribution: Alcathoe caudata (HARRIS, 1839) (Canada and the U.S.A.), A. verrugo (DRUCE, 1884) (southwestern California and Mexico) A. korites (DRUCE, 1883) (Guatemala and Costa Rica), A. carolinensis ENGELHARDT, 1925 (eastern U.S.A.), A. pepsioides ENGELHARDT, 1925 (southern U.S.A.), A. altera ZUKOWSKY, 1940 (Mexico), A. autumnalis ENGELHARDT, 1946 (Texas), A. leucopyga BRYK, 1953 (Ecuador) and A. melini BRYK, 1953 (Brazil). We here describe a new species of Alcathoe which was collected by the junior author in Mexico. All individuals of A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. were lured by synthetic sex pheromones. In this procedure the commercial compound developed by VOERMANN for Synanthedon myopaeformis (BORKHAUSEN, 1783) proved to be very effective (94.5 % Z3Z13–18Ac, 2.3 % Z3E13–18Ac, 2.3 % E3Z13–18Ac, 9 % E3E13–18Ac) (s. ARN et al. 1992).

The holotype and one paratype with enclosed slide preparation of the genitalia will be deposited in the Insect Taxonomy Laboratory of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento. Four paratypes including the melanistic variant are deposited in the collection of HANS G. RIEFENSTAHL, Hamburg, Germany and one paratype is deposited in the collection of AXEL KALLIES, Berlin, Germany.

Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov. Holotype. 么 (Fig. 1). México, Guerrero, Taxco, 28./29.5.2003, 1900 m, leg. RIEFENSTAHL & WAGENBLASS Paratypes. 4 么. México, Guerrero, Taxco, 28./29.5.2003, 1900 m, leg. RIEFENSTAHL & WAGENBLASS; 2 么 (including a melanistic variant) México, Oaxaca, San José el Mogote, 23.5.2003, 1600 m, leg. RIEFENSTAHL & WAGENBLASS. Derivatio nominis. The new species is dedicated to the last Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc, executed by the Spanish conquerors under HERNÁN CORTÉS in 1525 and still venerated by the Mexicans. Description. Holotype. 么; Alar expanse 30 mm; forewing length 14 mm, body length 15 mm (inclusive caudal appendage 28 mm), length of antenna 10 mm. Head, thorax, abdomen and anal appendage shiny black with bluish lustre. Head. Labial palpus dull fuscous, covered ventro-laterally with long scales; antenna orange colored, intermixed with black scales, slightly clavate, shortly and finely bipectinate; pericephalic scales shiny black. Legs. Fore femur and fore tibia tufted, fore tarsus smooth; mid femur dorsally inter-mixed with orange scales, smooth except for long fine hairs ventrally in basal half, mid tibia tufted and with two spurs, mid tarsus smooth; hind femur smooth, hind tibia rough scaled, area 195

Entomologische Zeitschrift · Stuttgart · 114(5)2004

between proximal and distal pairs of spurs less tufted. Wings. Forewing opaque, ground color orange-red, pale towards termen, wing base black, blackened area extensive; costa black; discoidal cell more reddish than ground color; discoidal spot reddish, weakly developed; radial, marginal and cubital veins greyish, areas between them intermixed with greyish scales. Hindwing opaque, ground color orange-red, pale towards termen, wing base black, blackened area extensive, veins black except from M1 and M2. Female. Unknown. Male genitalia (Fig. 2). Crista gnathi simple, heart-shaped, crista sacculi simple, long and narrow, dorsal margin with a narrow row of setae, reaching ventral margin of valva; valva rounded apically, bare area crescent-shaped, its radius reaching more than half of the valva’s height; saccus narrow, apically dilated; aedeagus slender. Variation. Alar expanse 25–35 mm; forewing length 11–16 mm; length of antenna 8–12 mm. Melanistic variants occur (Fig. 3). Diagnosis. A. autumnalis ENGELHARDT, 1946, A. korites (DRUCE, 1883) and A. pepsioides ENGELHARDT, 1925 are orange-red colored, but in contrast to A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. they are characterized by the possession of hyaline areas on their hindwings. The wings of A. verrugo (DRUCE, 1884) are opaque as in A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. but differ from the wings of the latter by the lack of the extensive black areas near the wing bases. Additionally, there are distinct differences in the genital morphology of the two species. The following characters of the male genitalia as stated in EICHLIN & DUCKWORTH (1988) separate A. verrugo (DRUCE, 1884) from A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov.: crista gnathi rather triangularly shaped, crista sacculi wider, dorsal margin with a wide row of setae; apically pointed valva with more abundant pilosity; saccus wider and shorter, blunt distally. Ecology. Taxco is situated in the mountainous highland of Guerrero province about 100 km south of Mexico City. The specimens were caught in different localities of the small town. The supposed food plant, Clematis spec., is widespread 196

in the gardens and parks. San José el Mogote is located in the highland of Oaxaca province, 50 km west of the capital Oaxaca. It is a small village in an extensive agricultural area with less than a thousand inhabitants. Clematis spec. is commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant. Discussion. The discovery of a new clearwing species in Mexico was not unexpected. The junior author could collect several undescribed species during each of his three trips to Mexico in 1996, 1997 and 2003. The sesiid fauna of Mexico is currently intensively studied by EICHLIN (in prep.). Alcathoe species are known as root and stem borers in Clematis sp. (Ranunculaceae) (ENGELHARDT 1946) which is likely to represent the food plant for A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov.. The occurrence of Clematis spec. in both habitats (S. SPELLENBERG et al. 1994) supports this assumption. Melanistic variants have already been recorded for other orange-red colored Alcathoe species (EICHLIN & DUCKWORTH 1988). Including A. cuauhtemoci sp. nov. the number of described Alcathoe species increases to 10 but the classification of A. leucopyga and A. melini, which were described by BRYK (1953), ought to be problematic. Only the partially damaged type specimens of both species exist in the Swedish Museum of Natural

History in Stockholm (the holotype 么 and one paratype 乆 of A. leucopyga, the holotype 乆 of A. melini). These specimens need further examination to clarify their status. Acknowledgements. We are grateful to Dr. AXEL KALLIES (Berlin) for revising an earlier draft of this paper and to Dr. THOMAS D. EICHLIN (Sacramento, CA) for helpful discussions concerning the status of the new species. Special thanks are also due to THOMAS SOBCZYK (Hoyerswerda) for providing the genital drawings, to NELSON MASCARENHAS (Hamburg) for the digitalisation of the images, and to ANJA SOLTAU (Hamburg) for helpful comments on the English translation. Finally, we wish to thank Dr. BERT GUSTAFSSON (Stockholm) for his efforts in making digital images of BRYK’S Alcathoe specimens available and ROBERT JENSEN (Canoga Park, CA) for giving his consent to the usage of his Pepsis image.

References ARN, H., TÓTH, M. & PRIESNER, E. 1992. List of sex pheromones of Lepidoptera and related attractants, 2nd edtion. International Organization for Biological Control: 1–179. BRYK, F. 1953. Lepidoptera aus dem Amazonasgebiete und aus Peru gesammelt von Dr. DOUGLAS MELIN und Dr. ABRAHAM ROMAN. Arkiv för Zoologi utgivet av Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademien Serie 2, 5 (1): 264– 266.

Fig. 2. Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov., male genitalia.

Fig. 1. Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov., holotype 么.

Fig. 4. Pepsis sp. 乆 (Hymenoptera: Pompi-lidae: Pepsinae) (Copyright: ROBERT JENSEN)

Fig. 3. Alcathoe cuauhtemoci sp. nov., melanistic paratype 么.

DRUCE, H. 1883. Biologia Centrali-Americana. Insecta Lepidoptera-Heterocera. Vol. I (text): 33–34; Vol. III (plates): (pl. 5). EDWARDS, H. 1882. Notes on American Aegeriidae, with Descriptions of New Forms. Papilio, Organ of the New York Entomological Club 2: 53. EICHLIN, T. D. & DUCKWORTH, W.D. 1988. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Including Greenland. Sesioidea, Sesiidae. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation 5.1: 1– 176. ENGELHARDT, G. P. 1946. The North American Clear-Wing Moths of the Family Aegeriidae.

Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum, Bulletin 190: 1–222. HEPPNER, J. B. & DUCKWORTH, W. D. 1981. Classification of the Superfamily Sesioidea (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 314: 1–144. SPELLENBERG, R., RAYFIELD, S. & NEHRING, C. 1994. Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Western Region). National Audubon Society: 1–862. ZUKOWSKY, B. 1940. Familie: Aegeriidae. In SEITZ Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde. Die Amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer 6: 1246– 1247.

● Dipl.-Biol. LARS KROGMANN, Universität Hamburg, Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, D-20146 Hamburg; E-mail: [email protected] — HANS RIEFENSTAHL, Universität Hamburg, Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, D-20146 Hamburg; E-mail: [email protected]

197