Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5315 No. 4: 11 Jul. 2023
Type: Article
Published: 2023-07-11
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5315.4.1
Page range: 301-314
Abstract views: 185
PDF downloaded: 24

Two new Thereus species from Peru, with notes on ecological niche partitioning (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Theclinae)

16; rue des Aspres; 34160 Montaud; France
Biodiversity; Department of Biology; Lund University; Lund; Sweden
Lepidoptera Cosñipata biodiversity hotspot species discovery Eumaeini Thereus eryssus Thereus illex barcoding mtDNA natural selection territorial behavior competing species

Abstract

Male hairstreaks (Theclinae) are often territorial, known for occupying their observation posts at a specific time during the day and at a certain height in the vegetation. The time and height for their perch vary from species to species but remain surprisingly stable year after year in any particular location. From these strategic observation posts males can check the passage of virgin females and chase away competing males. Consequently, these posts act as resources for the males and are not only vigorously defended from conspecific males but also form males of other species. In Peru, males of two closely related species belonging to the genus Thereus Hübner were observed in situ, defending their territories. One of them, Thereus tierralinda Faynel & Fåhraeus, sp. nov., is described here based on five male specimens from Cosñipata valley, Cusco, southern Peru. Further, it is compared to Thereus columbicola (Strand) and other close species in the Thereus eryssus species group. Observations over several years of T. columbicola and this new species show that they have different spatial and temporal characteristics for their perches, presumably to avoid competition with one another. Additionally, as a result of the partial revision of the group, a second new species, Thereus vicens Faynel & Fåhraeus, sp. nov., is also described based on one male and two females from Tingo María, Huánuco, central Peru. We also note that French Guiana is a new country record for Thereus eryssus (Herbst).

 

References

  1. Alcock, J. (1987) Leks and hilltopping in insects. Journal of Natural History, 21 (2), 319–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938700771041 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938700771041
  2. Alcock, J. & Carey, M. (1988) Hilltopping behaviour and mating success of the tarantula hawk wasp, Hemipepsis ustulata (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), at a high elevation peak. Journal of Natural History, 22 (5), 1173–1178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938800770741 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938800770741
  3. Baughman, J.F., Murphy, D.D. & Ehrlich, P.R. (1988) Population structure in a hilltopping butterfly. Oecologia, 75, 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00776425 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00776425
  4. Callaghan, C.J. (1983) A study of isolating mechanisms among Neotropical butterflies of the subfamily Riodininae. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 21 (3), 159–176. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.266799 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/p.266799
  5. Comstock, J.H. (1918) The wings of insects. The Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca. 430 pp.
  6. Dieckmann, U. & Doebeli, M. (1999) On the origin of species by sympatric speciation. Nature, 400 (6742), 354–357. https://doi.org/10.1038/22521 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/22521
  7. Faynel, C. (2003) Cinq années d’observation sur les Theclinae de Guyane française (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Bulletin des Lépidoptéristes Parisiens, Hors-Série, Lépidoptères de Guyane, 49–62.
  8. Faynel, C. & Bálint, Z. (2004) Supplementary information on neotropical Eumaeini primary type material and further historical specimens deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (Lycaenidae, Theclinae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 109 (3), 263–286. https://doi.org/10.3406/bsef.2004.16126 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/bsef.2004.16126
  9. Faynel, C. & Moser, A. (2008) The neotropical genus Oenomaus Hübner with the description of eight new species belonging to the atena group (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). Lambillionea, 108 (2), Supplément I, 1–36.
  10. Hewitson, W.C. (1867) Illustrations of Diurnal Lepidoptera. Lycaenidae. Vol. 3. John Van Voorst, London, 102 pp., pl. 46, figs. 203–204.
  11. McBride, C.S., van Velzen, R. & Larsen, T.B. (2009) Allopatric origin of cryptic butterfly species that were discovered feeding on distinct host plants in sympatry. Molecular Ecology, 18 (17), 3639–3651. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04309.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04309.x
  12. Nicolay, S.S. & Robbins, R.K. (2005) Five new dry-area South American Strymon species (Lycaenidae: Theclinae) and their biogeographic significance. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 38, 35–49. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.263981 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/p.263981
  13. Painter, K.J. (2014) Multiscale models for movement in oriented environments and their application to hilltopping in butterflies. Theoretical Ecology, 7, 53–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-013-0198-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-013-0198-0
  14. Prieto, C. & Dahners, H.W. (2006) Eumaeini (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) del cerro San Antonio: Dinámica de la riqueza y comportamiento de “Hilltopping”. Revista Colombiana de Entomología, 32 (2), 179–190. https://doi.org/10.25100/socolen.v32i2.9388 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25100/socolen.v32i2.9388
  15. Prieto, C. & Dahners, H.W. (2009) Resource utilization and environmental and spatio-temporal overlap of a hilltopping Lycaenid butterfly community in the Colombian Andes, Journal of Insect Science, 9 (1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1673/031.009.1601 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1673/031.009.1601
  16. Ratnasingham, S. & Hebert, P.D.N. (2007) BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data System (www.barcodinglife.org). Molecular ecology Notes, 7, 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01678.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01678.x
  17. Robbins, R.K. (1991) Evolution, comparative morphology, and identification of the Eumaeini butterfly genus Rekoa Kaye (Lycaenidae. Theclinae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 498, 1–64. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.498 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.498
  18. Robbins, R.K. (2004) Introduction to the Checklist of Eumaeini, Lycaenidae. In: Lamas, G. (Ed.), Checklist of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Part 4A. Hesperoidea-Papilionoidea. In: Heppner, J.B. (Ed.), Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Florida, pp. xxiv–xxx.
  19. Robbins, R.K., Heredia, M.D. & Busby, R.C. (2015) Male secondary sexual structures and the systematics of the Thereus oppia species group (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Eumaeini). ZooKeys, 520, 109–130. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.520.10134 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.520.10134
  20. Robbins, R.K., Martins, A.R., Busby, R.C. & Duarte, M. (2012) Loss of male secondary sexual structures in allopatry in the Neotropical butterfly genus Arcas (Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini). Insect Systematics & Evolution, 43, 35–65. https://doi.org/10.1163/187631212X626195 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/187631212X626195
  21. Salazar, J.A. (1996) Sobre la concentración de lepidópteros ropalóceros en la cumbre de un cerro del noroccidente de Caldas, Colombia. SHILAP, 24 (94), 183–195.
  22. Shields, O. (1967) Hilltopping. An ecological study of summit congregation behavior of butterflies on a southern California hill. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 6, 69–178. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.333400 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/p.333400
  23. Wilson, J. (2012) DNA barcodes for insects. Methods in molecular biology, 858, 17–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-591-6_3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-591-6_3
  24. Winter, W.D. (2000) Basic techniques for observing and studying moths and butterflies. Memoirs of the Lepidopterists’ Society, 5, 1–444.
  25. Worthen, W.B. (2018) Confirming the relationship between body size and perch height in tropical odonates (Odonata: Libellulidae): wet-season contrasts and experimental tests. International Journal of Odonatology, 21, 229–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2018.1536894 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2018.1536894