Simeão S. Moraes

Morfologia externa comparada das três espécies do complexo Telchin licus (Drury) (Lepidoptera, Castniidae) com uma sinonímia

Comparative external morphology of the three species of the Telchin licus (Drury) complex (Lepidoptera, Castniidae) with a synonymy. A detailed morphological study of head, thorax, and abdomen is provided for three closely related species of Neotropical sun-moths. The taxonomic position of these species is controversial. Prior to the present study two of these species belonged to the genus Telchin Hubner, 1825, and one to the monotypic genus Castniomera Houlbert, 1918 (type species: Castnia atymnius Dalman, 1824). The hypothesis of some authors of placing the three species in a single genus is here supported on morphological evidences from head, thorax, and abdomen. Castniomera Houlbert is treated as synonym of Telchin Hubner comprising the following species: Telchin licus (Drury, 1773), Telchin syphax (Fabricius, 1775), and Telchin atymnius (Dalman) new combination. The three species of the T. licus complex are illustrated with line drawings and color photographs.

Using population genetic methods to identify the origin of an invasive population and to diagnose cryptic subspecies of Telchin licus (Lepidoptera: Castniidae).

Telchin licus, the giant sugarcane borer, is an important pest species of sugarcane in northeast Brazil. Four subspecies of Telchin licus are recognized in Brazil based on their geographic distribution and subtle differences in wing colour pattern. Some taxa are morphologically indistinguishable, and their accurate identification is key to their efficient control. Mitochondrial genes sequences (cytochrome oxidase I and subunit 6 of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase) were applied to delimit taxonomic entities of T. licus, and to infer the origin of a newly established population in the state of São Paulo. The molecular data indicated that specimens sampled at different regions in Brazil are morphologically cryptic but genetically isolated entities, and at least three subspecies were assigned to the sampled localities. These data also suggested that the population collected from the state of São Paulo must have a common origin with populations from northeast Brazil, which corroborate the hypothesis that ornamental plants infested with larvae of T. licus might have been transported from the northeast to the southeast regions.

Revision of the Neotropical genus Yagra Oiticica (Lepidoptera: Castniidae)

The Castniidae, or butterfly moths, are characteristically colourful diurnal moths, distributed throughout the tropics except in Africa. The Neotropical representatives forage almost exclusively on monocotyledonous plants and many species are crop pests with more than 60% of the Neotropical castniids found or endemic in Brazil. Research studies that focus on taxonomy, systematics, and morphology of this group are scarce. In this study, Yagra Oiticica, a small genus restricted to south-eastern South America, is revised and the diagnostic morphological characters of male and female genitalia are illustrated. This research is part of long-term study on the Castniidae for future phylogenetic analysis.

Extreme sexual dimorphism and polymorphism in two species of the tiger moth genus Dysschema (Lepidoptera: Erebidae): association between males and females, sexual mimicry and melanism revealed by integrative taxonomy

The genus Dysschema belongs to Pericopina (Erebidae: Arctiinae: Arctiini). It is outstanding because of the extreme sexual dimorphism and polymorphism found among many of its species, with males and females mimicking different groups within Lepidoptera. This has led to a confused taxonomic scenario because males and females were routinely described as different species, and an inflated number of species was established. Dysschema maginata and D. terminata are sexually dimorphic, the females of both species have the same wing pattern and represent a rare case of sex-limited mimicry. Both species were described based on the females, and the association with males was proposed long after the original descriptions without any further evidences. Despite these similarities, the former species represents a simple dual case of polymorphism, while the latter species represents an uncommon case of multiple-dual polymorphism with at least four phenotypes for the male. In this study, we tested and corroborated hypothesized associations between sexes of D. marginata and D. terminata using DNA barcodes. The morphological studies also corroborated four phenotypes of males in D. terminata, with a new synonym: Dysschema Hering, 1928 and the the first record of a female-like male morph in a population of a sexually dimorphic species in Arctiinae. Moreover, we redescribed the two species, with comments on morphology and discussion on the polymorphism. A lectotype is designated for Pericopis holofernes Butler, 1871, synonym of D. terminata, to ensure the stability of the name.

Description of four new species of the tiger moth genus Dysschema Hubner (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini, Pericopina).

Description of four new species of the tiger moth genus Dysschema Hübner (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini, Pericopina). Four new species of Pericopina are described, three from southeast of Brazil: Dysschema uriasi Moraes, sp. nov., Dysschema wayneri Moraes, sp. nov., Dysschema amapoarum Moraes & Duarte sp. nov., and one from Mexico: Dysschema tarsoi Moraes sp. nov. Detailed species descriptions are based upon morphological characters. Photographs of habitus, illustrations of genitalia and comments on morphology are provided.

Crepuscular and nocturnal hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from a fragment of Atlantic rainforest in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

Abstract A survey of the richness, abundance and species composition of Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) was performed in a fragment of Atlantic Rainforest at the Serra do Japi Biological Reserve, Municipality of Jundiaí, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sampling was done monthly, on 2 consecutive nights, from Dec 2011 to Oct 2012, totaling 264 hours of sampling effort. The hawkmoths were attracted by a light trap. Our results were compared with data from a survey of Sphingidae carried out in another fragment of Atlantic Rainforest, i.e., at the Boraceia Biological Station, Municipality of Salesópolis, São Paulo. Richness estimators, rarefaction curves and rank/abundance plots were used to describe the assemblage sampled in this study and to compare it with the data set from Boraceia. We collected 462 specimens, members of 3 subfamilies, 5 tribes, 18 genera and 39 species. Callionima parce (Fabricius) was the most abundant species, comprising 33% of the individuals. Orecta lycidas (Boisduval), an under-sampled species in the Atlantic Rainforest, was recorded for the first time in the area of Serra do Japi. The assemblage showed lower species richness and evenness than the assemblage at Boraceia, probably due to differences in climate, vegetation and size of the forest fragment in which the reserves are situated. Nevertheless, our results emphasize the importance of the Serra do Japi Biological Reserve for the fauna of Lepidoptera of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest.