Abstract
The taxonomy of the hitherto unplaced taxon Porosagrotis carolia Schaus, 1929 is evaluated and the name is taken out of taxonomic limbo and combined with Feltia Walker, 1856. Feltia carolia comb. nov., described from a single female specimen, is redescribed, including the first description of the male. Head, thorax and its appendages, and male and female genitalia are illustrated through photographs and line drawings; photographs of the holotype and a distribution map for the species is provided. Additionally, the spatio-temporal occurrence of the species in Rio Grande do Sul was assessed by monthly standardized samplings with light traps from January of 1998 to December of 1999 in ten different physiographical zones of the state. Our results suggest that F. carolia comb. nov. is univoltine and goes through prepupal and pupal estival diapauses. The assessment of the distribution of the species, based on the standardized samplings and specimens deposited in entomological collections, suggests that F. carolia comb. nov. is restricted to the southern Brazilian Campos, a mostly neglected environment discontinuously distributed in mountainous plateaus of the southern Mata Atlântica biome.
References
Arend, L.M. (1990) Geografia Física. In: Hoffmann, G.R., Arend, L.M., da Silveira, J.C.B., Bellomo, H.R. & Nunes, L.L.M. (Eds.), Rio Grande do Sul - Aspectos da Geografia. Martins Livreiro, Porto Alegre, pp. 22–53.
Bentancourt, C.M. & Scatoni, I.B. (2006) Lepidopteros de importancia económica en Uruguay: reconocimiento, biología y daños de las plagas agrícolas y forestales. Hemisfério Sur, Montevideo, 437 pp.
Boisduval, J.B.A.D. & Guenée, A. (1852) Histoire Naturelle des Insectes. Species Général des Lépidoptères. Tome Cinquième. Noctuélites. Tome 1. Roret, Paris, 407 pp.
Frost, S.W. (1957) The Pennsylvania Insect Light Trap. Journal of Economic Entomology, 50, 287–292.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/50.3.287
Fabricius, O. (1794) Bidrag til Snylte-Ormenes Historie. Skrivter af Naturhistorie-Selskabet, 3, 1–45.
Grote, A.R. & Robinson, C.T. (1868) Descriptions of American Lepidoptera. Nº 3. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 1, 323–360.
Hampson, G.F. (1903) Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British Museum, Volume 4. Taylor and Francis, London, 689 pp.
Hübner, J. (1816–[1825]) Verzeichniss bekannter Schmettlinge [sic]. Jacob Hübner, Augsburg, 431 pp.
Lafontaine, J.D. (2004) The Moths of America North of Mexico. Fascicle 27.1: Noctuidae (part) - Agrotini. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, D.C., 385 pp.
Lafontaine, J.D. & Fibiger, M. (2004) Classification and distribution of the Agrotini. In: Lafontaine, J.D. (Ed.), The Moths of America North of Mexico. Fascicle 27.1: Noctuidae (part) - Agrotini. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, Washington, D.C., pp. 17–24.
Ochsenheimer, F. (1816) Die Schmetterlinge von Europa. Vol. 4. Gerhard Fleischer, Leipzig, 224 pp.
Orlandin, E., Favretto, M.A., Piovesan, M. & Santos, E.B. (2016) Borboletas e Mariposas de Santa Catarina: uma introdução. Mario Arthur Favretto, Campos Novos, 213 pp.
Overbeck, G.E., Müller, S.C., Fidelis, A., Pfadenhauer, J., Pillar, V.D., Blanco, C.C., Boldrini, I.I., Both, R. & Forneck, E.D. (2007) Brazil’s neglected biome: The South Brazilian Campos. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 9, 101–116.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2007.07.005
Piovesan, M., Orlandin, E., Favretto, M.A. & Santos, E.B. (2014) Contribuição para o conhecimento da Lepidopterofauna de Santa Catarina. Scientia Plena, 10, 1–32.
Poole, R.W. (1989) Noctuidae. In: Heppner J.B. (Ed.), Lepidopterorum Catalogus (New Series) Fascicle 118. Noctuidae. Parts 1–3. Brill, New York, 1314 pp.
San Blas, G. (2014) Agrotis Ochsenheimer (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae): a systematic analysis of South American species. Zootaxa, 3771, 1–64.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3771.1.1
San Blas, G. (2015) A morphological phylogeny of Agrotis Ochsenheimer (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), with emphasis on the South American species. Zoologica Scripta, 44, 153–164.
https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12091
Schaus, W. (1923) Galapagos Heterocera with descriptions of new species. Zoologica, 5, 23–48.
Schaus, W. (1929) New species of Heterocera (Lepidoptera) from southern Brazil. Procceedings of the entomological Society of Washington, 31, 45–56
Shorthouse, D.P. (2010) SimpleMappr, an online tool to produce publication-quality point maps. Available from: http://www.simplemappr.net (accessed 5 July 2017)
SI-USNM—Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum (2017) Search the Department of Entomology Collections. Porosagrotis carolia Schaus: Noctuidae: Lepidoptera: Insecta: Arthropoda. Available from: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3bb20a804-f1f5-477e-a49b-cb8ca66de71c (accessed 5 July 2017)
Smith, J.B. (1890) Contributions to a Monograph of the Insects of the Lepidopterous Family Noctuidae of Temperate North America. Revision of the Species of the Genus Agrotis. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 38, 1–237.
https://doi.org/10.5479/si.03629236.38.i
Specht, A. & Corseuil, E. (2002) Diversidade dos noctuídeos (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) em Salvador do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 19, 281–298.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-81752002000500022
Specht, A., Silva, E.J.E. & Link, D. (2004) Noctuídeos (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) do Museu Entomológico Ceslau Biezanko, Faculdade de Agronomia “Eliseu Maciel”, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, RS. Revista Brasileira de Agrociência, 10, 389–409.
Specht, A., Angulo, A.O., Olivares, T.S., Fronza, E., Roque-Specht, V.F., Valduga, E., Albrecht, F., Poletto, G. & Barros, N.M. (2013) Life cycle of Agrotis malefida (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): a diapausing cutworm. Zoologia, 30, 371–378.
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702013000400002
Walker, F. (1856) List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 9. Edward Newman, London, 252 pp.