ABSTRACT
This article presents characteristics of the habitats of Melitaea gina Higgins, 1941 and describes the behavior of adults under natural conditions, their host plant, egg chorion, caterpillars, and pupa morphology. The morphology of the early stages and the taxonomy of M. gina are discussed.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Lepidoptera , Animals , Butterflies/anatomy & histology , Larva/anatomy & histology , Iran , Pupa/anatomy & histology , BiologyABSTRACT
The egg chorion morphologies of Dahlica triquetrella (Hbner, 1813) and Dahlica lichenella (Linnaeus, 1761) are described. These two species well differ from each other by diameter of the micropyle, by number of micropyle pores, and by diameter of the micropyle rosette.
Subject(s)
Moths , Animals , ParthenogenesisABSTRACT
Acanthopsyche ecksteini (Lederer, 1885) is morphologically redescribed and Acanthopsyche semiglabra Solyanikov, 2004, syn. n., is synonymized to Psyche ecksteini. The lectotype of Psyche ecksteini is designated and illustrated. The distribution is updated with the most eastern current reliable record in Orenburg Region (Russia).
Subject(s)
Lepidoptera , Moths , Animal Distribution , AnimalsABSTRACT
A detailed comparison of the taxa Mellicta aurelia distans Higgins, 1955, M. aurelia aurelia (Nickerl, 1850), and M. alatauica (Staudinger, 1881) was performed. The geographic isolation of M. aurelia distans, its habitat preferences, as well as clear differences in the female and male genitalia compared with M. aurelia aurelia, indicate that the taxon distans is an independent species. Molecular data based on sequencing of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of the mitochondrial DNA confirmed our morphological results. Both the morphological and the molecular results showed a high degree of divergence of M. alatauica from the related species.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Animals , DNA, Mitochondrial , Ecosystem , Female , Male , MitochondriaABSTRACT
This article presents characteristics of the habitats and flying period of Melitaea timandra Coutsis et Oorschot, 2014 and describes the behavior of the adults under natural conditions, their food plant, egg chorion morphology, and caterpillars of the first and senior instars. In addition, a larval parasitoid is identified as Cotesia sp., and the possible development cycle of M. timandra is described.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Lepidoptera , Animals , Biology , Iran , LarvaABSTRACT
To clarify the relationships of Pedesta submacula (Leech, 1890), P. submacula rubella (Devyatkin, 1996) and P. similissima (Devyatkin, 2002), specimens from various localities in China and Vietnam, including the type materials of P. submacula rubella and P. similissima were examined. A neighbor-joining (NJ) tree was also reconstructed based upon partial COI sequences of 24 ingroup specimens and 4 outgroup species. The result shows that P. similissima is a synonym of P. submacula, and P. submacula rubella belongs to a separate species. The mean Kimura-2-Parameter genetic distance between P. submacula and P. rubella stat. n. is 4.4%. Wing patterns and genitalic structures of these taxa are illustrated and compared. A distribution map of both species is provided.
Subject(s)
Lepidoptera , Animals , GenitaliaABSTRACT
Plebejus chrisreai sp. n. and P. anikini azhbogdo ssp. n. are described from the Dzhungarian Gobi desert and the Transaltajan Gobi desert respectively. External distinctions as well as distinctions of the male genitalia are given for the new taxa and two related species known from Mongolia: Plebejus anikini Yakovlev, 2012 and P. germani Yakovlev, 2012. Genitalia of all the taxa mentioned are illustrated, the aedeagus and valva bear the most valuable taxonomic characters. Females of the new species have an unusual whitish colour of the upperside not known for the christophi species complex before. The distribution of Mongolian taxa and relatives from East Kazakhstan is discussed.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Animals , Environment , Female , Genitalia , Kazakhstan , Male , MongoliaABSTRACT
Glabroculus elvira suadela ssp. n. is described from the Dzhungarian Gobi desert. The species was not previously recorded in Mongolia. The new subspecies can be easily differentiated from other known conspecific taxa by the bright shiny upperside in males and contrasting upperside in females, with conspicuous whitish spots.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Animals , Environment , Female , Male , MongoliaABSTRACT
Neolycaena enkhnasani sp. n. is described from the Dzhungarian Gobi desert. The food plant is Halimodendron halodendron (Fabacea). The new species is distinguished from the related taxa known from East Kazakhstan by small size, dense gray suffusion on the hindwing underside, a delicate and partly reduced submarginal underside pattern as well as the characters of the genitalia: the shape of the valva in males and the shape of the antrum in females. Important new data about the distribution and distinctions of N. zaisana (Zhdanko, 2013) and N. balchaschensis Zhdanko, 1998 are published together with photos of the genitalia of all the three taxa.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Lepidoptera , Animal Distribution , Animals , Environment , Female , Genitalia , Male , MongoliaABSTRACT
A new species, recently misinterpreted as Callophrys mystaphia Miller, 1913, Callophrys mystaphioides Krupitsky & Kolesnichenko sp. n., is described from Central Iran (Esfahan Province). The new species differs from C. mystaphia in the combination of external characters and morphology of genitalia. Possible relations of C. mystaphia--species group with other Palaearctic Callophrys are discussed.