Pollanisus horakae Mollet & Tarmann 2023, sp. n.
Creators: name: Mollet, Bernard
name: Tarmann, Gerhard M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Zygaenidae
Pollanisus
Pollanisus horakae

description: Pollanisus horakae sp. n.
Materiel examined (Table 7), all from Queensland. Holotype: ♁ (1412) (Figs 96, 99), Paluma N. P., Road to Paluma, 19°00′10.5′′S, 146°16′55.3′′E, 258 m, e. l. on Hibbertia longifolia, 29.IV.2013, B. Mollet & G. Tarmann leg. (BMC).
Paratypes: 1 ♁ (1413) (Figs 97, 100) 5 ♁, 1♀ (1445) (Figs 98, 101), 3 ♀, Paluma N. P., Road to Paluma, 19°00′10.5′′S, 146°16′55.3′′E, 258 m, e. l. on H. longifolia, 29.IV.2013, B. Mollet & G. Tarmann leg. (BMC); 1♁, Millestream Falls, 5 km SW of Ravenshoe, 820 m GPS, 21.XI.1998, E. D. Edwards & H. Sutrisno leg. (ANIC).
Additional paratypes (head ratios examined, but not included in Table 7): 25 ♁, 21 ♀ Paluma N. P., Road to Paluma, 19°00′10.5′′S, 146°16′55.3′′E, 258 m, e. l. on H. longifolia, 29.IV.2013, B. Mollet & G. Tarmann leg. (BMC);
Discussion and differential diagnosis. Although Pollanisus horakae sp. n. is similar in habitus to P. contrastus, there are some small but constant differences in the head ratio data (Table 7). The other Pollanisus species with similar habitus have different head ratio data.
Distribution map (Fig. 112)
P. horakae sp. n. is strongly linked to its larval host-plant, Hibbertia longifolia (Dilleniaceae), which has a restricted distribution in North East Queensland.
Differences in head ratio data and larval host-plants are strong characters to justify the description of this new species.
Description. Male, holotype. Length of body: 5.1 mm; length of forewing: 6.3 mm; breadth: 2.5 mm; length of hindwing: 4.6 mm; breadth: 2.2 mm; length of antenna: 4.9 mm; distance between compound eyes in frontal view, 1.64 x the breadth of compound eye and 1.07 x the height; compound eye black almost circular in lateral view; ocellus slightly ovoid; chaetosemata triangular shape, long and narrow distally, occupying all the space between compound eye and ocellus. Antenna: brown with satin sheen, segments 1 to 25 bipectinate, 26 to 37 biserrate, pectinations of maximum length at segment 10, about 4.6x longer than breadth of shaft in dorsal view. Body: frons brown with greenish blue metallic sheen, vertex brown, edging of blue metallic scales bordering the compound eyes; proboscis yellow, brown porrect labial palps; patagia, proximal part of tegulae and thorax covered with coppery metallic scales; thorax brown dorsally with a strong blue metallic sheen ventrally; abdomen brown on segments 1, from segment 2 to distal part golden coppery metallic sheen dorsally, brown ventrally. Forewing: brown with satin sheen on upperside, light brown on underside with a bluish green metallic band below costa. Hindwing: brown with slightly translucent area medially, underside with shiny blue scales anteriad of medial stem and at anal angle. Legs and coxae: brown with strong green metallic sheen on coxae and femur.
Female, paratype. Length of body: 5.3 mm; length of forewing: 6.3 mm; breadth: 2.5 mm; length of hindwing: 4.6 mm; breadth: 2.3 mm; length of antenna: 4.7 mm; distance between compound eyes in frontal view, 1.99 x the breadth of compound eye and 1.33 x the height; compound eye black almost circular in lateral view; ocellus slightly ovoid; chaetosemata rounded with very long anterior extension occupying all the space between compound eye and ocellus. Antenna: brown with satin sheen, segments 1 to 42 biserrate, pointed distally. Body, forewing, hindwing, legs and coxae (as male description above). Presence of an abdominal yellow hairtuft distally in female.
Male genitalia (Fig. 36). Valva with pointed apex, distally straight dorsally, ventral margin straight. Phallus nearly x4 longer than broad, cylindrical, slightly upcurved, cornutus as long as phallus.
Female genitalia (Fig. 114). Ductus bursae broad, slightly scleotized, leading into a large praebursa with central sclerotization without teeth.
Phenology and bionomics. Males and females are day flying, resting around the larval host-plant Hibbertia longifolia (Figs 106, 107). Eggs are laid in a patch (Fig. 108), larvae are gregarious at early instars (Figs 109, 110), and variable in appearance at last instar (Fig. 111), but cannot be distinguished from many other species and used for species identification.
Etymology. This species is named in honour of Dr Marianne Horak, Canberra, who was curator of Lepidoptera in the Australian National Insect Collection during most of the time of our work on Australian Zygaenidae. She supported us significantly for more than two decades.
description: Published as part of Mollet, Bernard & Tarmann, Gerhard M., 2023, Revision of the genus Pollanisus Walker, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae: Procridinae), pp. 1-72 in Zootaxa 5281 (1) on pages 33-34, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5281.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7912043