Mimaporia suiae Huang & Martin 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Huang, Si-Yao
name: Martin, Geoff
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Epicopeiidae
Mimaporia
Mimaporia suiae

description: Mimaporia suiae Huang sp. nov.
Figs 1–4, 12, 13, 17 & 19
Mimaporia sp.: Wei & Yen 2017: 547, figs. 9 & 10.
Type material. Holotype (Figs 1, 13): male, printed label “Darjiling | Sikkim ” / printed label “ Rothschild | Bequest | B.M.1939-1” / printed label with QR-code “ NHMUK 014199999 ”/ printed label “slide NHMUK 014330976 ” (NHMUK). Paratypes: INDIA: 1 female, Sikkim, 7000 ft, Aug. 1895, leg. Pilcher, NHMUK 014200000 (NHMUK) (abdomen lost); MYANMAR: 1 female, 9–13. Jun. 2002, Panwa, E. Kachin, Myanmar, dissection No. KMSY08 (KMNH). CHINA: 1 female, 31.VII.2024, Tacheng Town, Weixi County, Yunnan Province, leg. native collector (CPY).
Diagnosis. Superficially, the male of Mimaporia suiae sp. nov. is reminiscent of M. owadai Huang & Wang, 2019 (Figs. 5, 6, 14) by sharing the large size and the bipectinate antennae (Fig. 12), but it can be easily distinguished from the latter by the somewhat straighter and more obliquely placed median band on forewing, the much smaller basal darkish area, the presence of a black median band in the discal pale yellow area, the well-developed pale submarginal patch series and the black cilia from apex to vein CuA 1 (cilia yellowish white from apex to vein CuA 1 in M. owadai) on hindwing. In male genitalia, M. suiae sp. nov. can be distinguished from M. owadai by the subapically less curved uncus, the broader juxta with shorter medial process, the slightly longer saccus, the rounded distal membranous section of valva, the shorter sacculus, the slightly shorter praesacculus with larger interior extension and the smaller sclerotised shaft without distal lateral thorn-like protrusion. Compared with the males of M. hmong and M. pura ((Figs. 10, 11, 16), the male of M. suiae sp. nov. can be easily distinguished by the larger size, the bipectinate antennae (unipectinate in M. hmong and M. pura) and the unilobate praesacculus in male genitalia (bilobate in M. hmong and M. pura). Regarding the female, since the females of M. owadai and M. pura are unknown, the comparison is only made between M. suiae sp. nov. and M. hmong. Superficially, the female of M. suiae sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from M. hmong by the much larger size, the bipectinate antennae and the better developed pale submarginal patch series on the hindwing. In female genitalia, M. suiae sp. nov. can be distinguished from M. hmong by the stronger sclerotised antrum and the larger and elliptical corpus bursae (corpus bursae globular in M. hmong).
Description. Male (Figs. 1, 12, 13). Length of forewing 33 mm.Antenna bipectinate, black. Head and abdomen black. Thorax black, patagia covered by yellowish-white hairy scales, tegula covered by dark reddish brown hairy scales basally. Forewing upperside ground color black, all pale patterns pale yellow, cilia black. Costa with a short streak at base. A long triangular bar presenting at the base of discal cell. A long trapezoid bar presenting at the base of cell CuA 1. Median band consisting of discontinuous patches of various sizes and extending from costa to cell CuA 1; submarginal band discontinuous, extending from cell R 3 to cell CuA 1 and significantly shifted inwards in cell R 4. Hindwing upperside ground color black, all pale patterns pale yellow, cilia black. Wingbase black and followed by a large pale yellow discal area. A black medial band extending and gradually narrowed from costa towards its end at vein M 3. Submarginal band represented by a series of discontinous patches extending from subapical area to cell CuA 2. Female (Figs. 2–4, 17, 19). Length of forewing 28–29 mm. Antenna bipectinate with very short rami, black. Head, thorax and abdomen same as in male. Forewing as in male, slightly varied in the width of the pale patterns in certain individuals. Hindwing similar to that of male, variable in the size regarding the discal pale yellow area, in one individual (Fig. 2) the whole area reduced to a medial series of dots and short streaks in cell Sc+R 1 and the discal cell. Submarginal band as in male.
Male genitalia (Fig. 13). Uncus well-developed, slightly bent downwards at distal one third. Tegumen triangular laterally. Costula presented at the junction of tegumen and vinculum, semi-circular, concaved shallowly at the middle and scobinated by numerous small spines at both sides of the marginal section. Transtilla rectangular, slightly sclerotised. Juxta broad v-shaped with lateral extension and a blunt, triangular process medially. Saccus elongated, truncate distally. Valva nearly rectangular with the distal end rounded, its inner surface densely setose. Costa sclerotised. Sacculus sclerotised, broader at base and gradually narrowed towards its distal end. Praesacculus strongly sclerotised, formed a triangular process directed dorsally. Phallus slightly longer than sacculus, in dorsal view expanded near its distal end. A pentagon-shaped, strongly pigmented and sclerotised shaft presented in the phallus.
Female genitalia (Figs. 17 & 19). Papillae anales densely setose and slightly sclerotised, rounded distally. Apophyses sclerotised, with apophysis posterioris 3 times longer than that of apophysis anterioris. Lamella postvaginalis as broad as the 8th segment, rectangular, slightly sclerotised with its posterior section scobinated. Lamella antevaginalis sclerotised, band-like and laterally with hook-like process extended posteriorly. Ostium as wide as antrum. Antrum moderately sclerotised. Ductus bursae as long as antrum, membranous. Corpus bursae elliptical, membranous.
Distribution. Nepal (see below for remark on the record), North India (Sikkim), North Myanmar (Kachin State) and Southwest China (Northwest Yunnan Province) (Fig. 21).
Etymology. The new species is named after Ms. Suiji Sui who comforted and encouraged the first author during his PhD study overseas. The species epithet is a noun in the genitive case.
Remarks. 1) In the work of Wei & Yen (2017), the sizes of the Mimaporia adults illustrated in figures 6–11 are inaccurate. According to the statement in Wei & Yen (2017), the wingspan of the HT of M. suiae sp. nov. is 34 mm, however after examining the specimen, we found that 34 mm most probably represents the length of the forewing, and the wingspan of the HT of M. suiae sp. nov. is around 53 mm. Such inaccuracy has affected the illustrations. The forewing length of M. hmong is 22–23 mm according to the original description, but in figures 6–11 in Wei & Yen (2017), when compared under the same scale, the M. hmong adults are similar or even larger in size compared with the type series of M. suiae sp. nov. (Figs 1 & 2). Similar issue also occurred with M. owadai illustrated in the same work. Wei & Yen (2017) stated that “The specimen from Sichuan (Fig.11) is similar to M. hmong in size…”, however the forewing length of that individual of M. owadai (Fig. 6) is actually 33 mm, much larger than M. hmong. 2) Although the females from India, Myanmar and China have differences regarding the size of the black patterns on hindwing, such differences should only be attributed to individual variation for the reason below. During the searching in the Lepidoptera enthusiasts’ communities online, we noticed that a photographer recorded a female of M. suiae sp. nov. from Nepal at an altitude of 3400 m (https://www.facebook.com/groups/microlepsasia/ permalink/1351938728483626). Since no accurate location can be found in the post, we did not add any marking in the territory of Nepal on our distribution map (Fig. 21). Interestingly, the female individual in the post is very similar to the one from Yunnan (Fig. 4), showing that M. suiae sp. nov. is a variable species and the size of the black patterns on hindwing is not related with the distribution. It can also be concluded that the female from Sikkim (Fig. 2) should only be an extreme melanic form, similar to the case in the males of M. hmong which also have variations on the black patterns on both wings.
description: Published as part of Huang, Si-Yao & Martin, Geoff, 2025, Description of a new species of the genus Mimaporia Wei & Yen (Lepidoptera: Geometroidea: Epicopeiidae), pp. 129-136 in Zootaxa 5618 (1) on pages 130-132, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5618.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/15217526