Capila omeia
Creators: name: Xue, Guoxi
name: Li, Meng
name: Rao, Zhi
name: Qiao, Yuemei
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Hesperiidae
Capila
Capila omeia

description: Capila omeia (Leech, 1894)
(Fig. 1, 2)
Celaenorrhinus omeia Leech, 1894: 572, pl. XXXVIII, fig. 5.
Type locality: Omeishan, Sichuan.
Capila omeia: Evans 1949: 86; Chou 1994: 699; Fan & Wang 2004: 153; Yuan et al. 2015: 133; Wu & Hsu 2017: 1289.
= Capila pseudomeia Fan & Wang, 2004: 154.
Type locality: Dadongshan, Lian Xian, Guangdong; Yuan et al. 2015: 134; Chen 2016: 426, 551; Xing et. al. 2020: 273. syn. n.
Intraspecific variability of wing pattern. In male (Fig. 1), the forewing length is 25–30 mm (n = 30). In the subapical area there are usually three spots in spaces R 3 –R 5, which may be elongated; in very few individuals a tiny dot exists in space M 1, may be followed by a vestigial dot in space M 2. In the discal area, three spots always present in space M 3, space Cu 1 and the cell end, respectively. These three spots may be closely placed (separated by dark veins), slightly detached, or well separated, and their size and shape are also variable among individuals. White stripes sometimes appear in the costal area above the cell spot. In most specimens, under the spot in space Cu 1 there is a spot in the upper half of space Cu 2, with variable size and shape, tending to be vanished in some individuals.
In female (Fig. 2), the length of forewing is 28–30 mm (n = 6). The costal stripes above the cell spot always present. The discal spots well developed and closely located. A vestigial tiny dot sometimes appears in the lower half of space Cu 2.
Remarks on genitalia characters. A hand drawing of the genitalia of a male Capila omeia from Omeishan was provided by Yuan et al. (2015). Comparing the hand drawing (Yuan et al. 2015: 134) with the photos of the male genitalia of C. pseudomeia (Fan & Wang 2004: figs. 5–10), the dorsal and middle branches of valva of the two species seem to be different in length and direction. However, these differences are actually due to view angle. Here we illustrate the genitalia of a male C. omeia from southwestern Chongqing (Fig. 3). It shows that the valva is curved and the three branches are bent inwards (Fig. 3: B, C, K), therefore, the shape of its inner side depends on how it is posed (Fig. 3: I, J). A similar example is Coladenia neomaeniata Fan & Wang, 2006 (= C. maeniata Oberthür, 1896) (Xue et al. 2015).
As to the female genitalia, specimens from southwestern Chongqing (Fig. 4) exhibit a slight variability. In one of the six examined specimens, the middle of lateral edges of the lamella antevaginal is protruding (Fig. 4: B). The female genitalia of Capila pseudomeia (Fan & Wang 2004: figs. 11, 12) show no significant difference from those of C. omeia.
Conclusion. Among the samples used for both molecular and morphological comparison, Fig. 1: A is a typical Capila omeia, Fig. 1: D and Fig. 2: B are representatives of C. pseudomeia because they are nearly identical to the type specimens of the taxon (Fan & Wang 2004: figs. 1–4). Based upon the above investigation, morphological characters in wing patterns and genitalia of both sexes of C. pseudomeia fall into the intraspecific variation of C. omeia. Therefore, we conclude that the former should be treated as a junior synonym of the latter. Hopefully, molecular data of the type specimens or materials from the type locality of C. pseudomeia will provide direct evidence of this treatment in the future.
Distribution and bionomics. Capila omeia is distributed from the west to the southeast of Sichuan Basin, through northern and northeastern Guizhou to northwestern Guangdong (Fig. 5). During our field survey at Simianshan, southwestern Chongqing, this species was a common skipper in mid-August, and adults always rested under leaves. At Fanjingshan, northeastern Guizhou, it was observed using Patrinia monandra as nectar source plant (Fig. 6).
description: Published as part of Xue, Guoxi, Li, Meng, Rao, Zhi & Qiao, Yuemei, 2023, A discussion on the relationship of Capila omeia (Leech, 1894) and C. pseudomeia Fan & Wang, 2004 syn. n. (Hesperiidae, Pyrginae), pp. 587-592 in Zootaxa 5264 (4) on pages 588-591, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5264.4.8, http://zenodo.org/record/7837204