Abstract
The giant butterfly-moths (Castniidae: Castniinae) are distributed in the Neotropics from Mexico, throughout Central America, down to South America reaching Argentina and Chile. Among the highly diverse genera, Haemonides Hübner is particularly striking due to the white or cream ground colour of their wings outlined with black margins which give it a vague resemblance to some species of Pieridae. Several species and subspecies have been described but research studies and information on the genus are scarce and in some cases confusing. In this work, the genus Haemonides, restricted to South America, is revised and the diagnostic phenotypic characteristics of males and females, as well as male genitalia are illustrated. Details on its history, biogeography and biology are included with the purpose of solving the confusion in identifying the species of the genus. A neotype is designated for Papilio cronis Cramer and a lectotype for Castnia cronida Herrich-Schäffer. A new subspecies H. cronis vinciguerrrai ssp. nov. is described. Other taxa are revised and their taxonomic and nomenclatural status clarified.
References
Barcant, M. (1970) Butterflies of Trinidad and Tobago. Collins, London, 314 pp.
Bénéluz, F. & Gallard, J.Y. (2012) Les Castniidae de Guyane Française (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). In: Lacomme, D. & Manil, L. (Eds.), Lépidoptéres de Guyane. Tome 6. Castniidae, Erebidae (Letis), Saturniidae (Eacles). Lépidoptéristes de France, Bures-sur-Yvette, pp. 14–38.
Brown, F.M. (1988) Fabricius’s “Systema Glossatorum.” Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 113 (4), 431–446.
Buchecker, H. ([1880]) Systema entomologiae sistens insectorum Classes, Genera, Species. Pars 6. Author, München, 2 pp., 30 pls.
Cramer, P. (1775–1782) De uitlandische Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen Asia, Africa en America. Papillons exotiques des trois parties du monde l’Asie, l’Afrique et l’Amérique. Vol. 2. S. J. Baalde & J. Van Schoonhoven & Comp., Amsteldam & B. Wild, Utrecht, 151 pp., pls. 97–192.
Douglas, F. (2004) A dedicated reserve for conservation of two species of Synemon (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Australian Journal of Insect Conservation, 8, 221–224.
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JICO.0000045820.07107Edwards, H. (1891) Birth of a beautiful exotic lepidopterous insect in New York. Insect Life, 3 (7/8), 316–317, fig. 29.
Fabricius, J.C. (1938) Systema glossatorum secundum ordines, genera, species adiectis synonymis locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. In: Bryk, F. (Ed.), J. Chr. Fabricius Systema Glossatorum (Brunovici 1807). G. Feller, Neubrandenburg, pp. [i]–xii, 13–112.
Fassl, A.H. (1921) Zwei neue Castnien aus Brasilien. Entomologische Rundschau, 38(1): 1–2.
Godart, J.B. ([1824]) Genre Castnie. Castnia. Fab. In: Latreille, P.A. & Godart, J.B. (Eds.), Encyclopedie Methodique. Histoire naturelle. Entomologie, ou histoire naturelle des crustacés, des arachnides et des insectes. 9 (2). Veuve Agasse, Paris, pp. 794–801.
González, J.M. (1998) Castniinae (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) de Venezuela. IV: El género Haemonides. Boletín del Centro de Investigaciones biológicas, Universidad del Zulia, 32 (3), 195–201.
González, J.M. (2008) Castnidos (Lepidopteros), In: Ocegueda, S. & Llorente, J. (Coords.), Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México, en Capital natural de México. Vol. I. Conocimiento actual de la biodiversidad. CONABIO, México City, pp. 1–4, 169–170.
González J.M., Boone, J.H., Brilmyer, G.M. & Le, D. (2010) The Giant Butterfly-moths of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, with notes on the Herman Strecker collection (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología, 38, 385–409.
González, J. M. & Cock, M.J.W. (2004) A synopsis of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) of Trinidad & Tobago. Zootaxa, 762, 1–19.
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.762.1.1González, J.M. & Fernández Yépez, F. (1993) Lista preliminar de las especies de Castniinae (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) del Parque Nacional “Henri Pittier,” Venezuela. Diagnosis y Comentarios. Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle, 53 (139), 47–53.
González, J.M. & Romero, F. (1997) Confirmación de la presencia de Haemonides cronis (Cramer) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) en el Parque Nacional “Henri Pittier”, Venezuela. Boletín de Entomología Venezolana, N.S., 12 (1), 119.
González, J.M. & Stünning, D. (2007) The Castniinae at the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift, 117, 89–93.
Häuser, C.L., Bartsch, D., Holstein, J. & Steiner, A. (2003) The Lepidoptera type material of G. A. W. Herrich–Schäffer in the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Stuttgart. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde (A), Biologie, 657, 1–78.
Herrich-Schäffer, G.A.W. (1850–[1858]) Sammlung neuer oder wenig bekannter aussereuropãischer Schmetterlinge. G. J. Manz, Regensburg, 84 pp., 120 pls.
Houlbert, C. (1917) Diagnoses de Castnies nouvelles et rectification de quelques noms indumant employés. Études de Lépidopterologie comparée, 13, 49–87, pls. 1–4.
Houlbert, C. (1918) Révision monographique de la sous-famille des Castniinae. Études de Lépidopterologie comparée, 15, i–xvi + 1–730, pls. 437–462, figs. 1–242.
Hübner, J. (1816–[1826]) Verzeichniss bekannter Schmettlinge. J. Hübner, Augsburg, 431+72 pp.
Lamas G. (1993) Bibliografía de los Castniidae (Lepidoptera) americanos. Revista peruana de Entomología, 35, 13–23.
Lamas, G. (1995) A critical review of J.Y. Miller’s checklist of the Neotropical Castniidae (Lepidoptera). Revista peruana de Entomología, 37, 73–87.
Lathy, P.I. (1923) Further notes on the Castniinae in the collection of Madame Gaston Fournier (Lepidoptera). Annals and Magazine of natural History, Series 9, 12 (68), 223–227.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00222932308632937Miller, J.Y. (1986) The Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Zoogeography of the Neotropical Moth Subfamily, Castniinae (Lepidoptera: Castnioidea: Castniidae). Ph. D. dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville, 571 pp., 218 figs.
Miller, J.Y. (1995) Castniidae. In: Heppner, J.B. (Ed.), Checklist: Part 2. Hyblaeoidea-Pyraloidea-Tortricoidea. Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Association for Tropical Lepidoptera/Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, pp. 133–137, 176–177.
Miller, J.Y. (2000) Castniidae (Lepidoptera) In: Llorente, J., González, E. & Papavero, N. (Eds.), Biodiversidad, taxonomia y biogeografia de artrópodos de México: Hacia una síntesis de su conocimiento. Vol. 2. Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México, México City, pp. 527–533.
Moraes, S.S. & Duarte, M. (2009) Morfologia externa comparada das três espécies do complex Telchin licus (Drury) (Lepidoptera, Castniidae) com uma sinonímia. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 53, 245–265.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-56262009000200007Moraes, S.S. & Duarte, M. (2014) Phylogeny of Neotropical Castniinae (Lepidoptera: Cossoidea: Castniidae): testing the hypothesis of the mimics as a monophyletic group and implications for the arrangement of the genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 170 (2), 362–399.
https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12102Moraes, S.S., Duarte, M. & González, J.M. (2010) Revision of Hista Oiticica (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) and discussion on the validity of its subspecies. Zootaxa, 2421, 1–27.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.194483Moraes, S.S., Duarte, M. & Miller, J.Y. (2011) Revision of the Neotropical genus Yagra Oiticica (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Journal of Natural History, 45 (25–26), 1511–1531.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2011.559593Moss, A.M. (1945) The Castnia of Pará, with notes on others (Lep. Castniidae). Proceedings of the royal entomological Society of London (B), 14 (3/4), 48–52.
Papavero, N. (1971) Essays on the history of Neotropical Dipterology, with special reference to collectors (1750–1905). Vol. I. Universidade de São Paulo, Museu de Zoologia, São Paulo, [8] + vii + 216 pp.
Ríos, S. & González, J.M. (2011) A Synopsis of the Castniidae (Lepidoptera) of Paraguay. Zootaxa, 3055, 43–61.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.278914Romero, F. (1997) Adultos de Haemonides cronis (Cramer) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) en flores de Warscewiczia sp. (Rubiaceae). Boletín de Entomología Venezolana, N.S., 12 (1), 123.
Seba, A. (1765) Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descriptio et iconibus artificiosissimis expressio per universam physices historiam. Opus, cui, in hoc rerum genere, nullum par exstitit. Ex toto terrarum orbe collegit, digessit, descripsit, et depingendum curavit. Vol. 4. H. C. Arksteus et H. Merkus, et Petrus Schouten, Amstelaedami, 260 pp. [pp. [4] + i–viii, 9–42, 1–226, pls. 1–108]
Smit, P., Sanders, A.P.M. & van der Veer, J.P.F. (1986) Hendrik Engel's alphabetical list of Dutch zoological cabinets and menageries. Nieuwe Nederlandse Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis der Geneeskunde en der Natuurwetenschappen, 19, i–x, 1–340.
Strand, E. (1913) Gattung: Castnia F. In: Seitz, A. (Ed.), Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde. 6 (1). A. Kernen, Stuttgart, pp. 7–17, pls. 1–8.
Strand, E. (1914) Lepidoptera Niepeltiana. Abbildungen und Beschreibungen neuer und wenig bekannter Lepidoptera aus der Sammlung W. Niepelt. Urban & Co., Leipzig, 64 + [1] pp., 12 pls.
Torre-Bueno, J.R., Nichols, S.W. & Schuh, R.T. (1989) The Torre-Bueno glossary of entomology. New York Entomological Society, New York, xvii + 840 pp.
Vinciguerra, R., Lozano Rodríguez, P., Hernández-Baz, F. & González, J.M. (2011) Observations on Athis thysanete (Dyar, 1912) (Lepidoptera, Castniidae) from Mexico and comparative notes to other species in the family. Biodiversity Journal, 2(4), 189–194.