Bia decaerulea Weymer, STAT. NOV.
Creators: name: Penz, Carla M.
name: Casagrande, Mirna M.
name: Devries, Phil
name: Simonsen, Thomas J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nymphalidae
Bia
Bia decaerulea

description: Bia decaerulea Weymer, STAT. NOV.
(Figs 4, 11 c, 12)
Diagnostic re-description. General characters as described for the genus. (1) MF DFW white apical ocelli medium-large. (2) MF DFW orange band somewhat diffuse, generally wide but varying in width, narrower in decaerulea pallida (Brazil, Amazonas, Barcelos and nearby localities; Colombia), intermediate in the nominal subspecies (Brazil, Amazonas, Manacapuru; Guyana; Suriname) and very wide in decaerulea cayana, reaching the distal edge of the discal cell and sometimes spreading into the discal cell (French Guiana; Brazil, north Pará); orange scales broadly extended proximally along veins, often lining cross-veins at the distal edge of discal cell. (3) M DFW iridescent band generally absent, but the location of the band might be visible under the scope when the specimen is tilted (a sheen is visible). F DFW blue iridescence well developed but variable; usually extended across the entire DC and diffuse anteriorly in both subspecies; usually visible at the CuA1-CuA2 intersection in both subspecies; below CuA2 the iridescent area is wide and may spread towards the tornus to meet the edge of the orange band in decaerulea cayana. F DFW iridescent band smaller than in B. actorion in most localities, but just as large in others (French Guiana region). (4) M DFW androconial scales on the CuA-CuA1-CuA2 intersection dark brown, matching scale color of surrounding area and intermingled with orange scales. (5) M DHW discal androconial pad dark brown, nearly black, always darker than associated hairpencil. (6) M DHW discal hairpencil dark brown, but lighter in color than discal androconial pad. (7) F VFW ripple pattern less dense than that of M, with the VFW postmedial area showing a more predominantly yellow color and with one or two pale markings sometimes present across DC. Male genitalia (Figs 2 and 11 c): tip of valva often truncated, varying in height, but sometimes narrow, spiny projection medium-tall, spines larger in specimens from the Guyana-Suriname-French Guiana region; gnathos broad (aforementioned region) to narrow (other localities).
Type material. The description by Weymer (1911) reads as follows: “ The form decaerulea Stgr. i.l. (60 e) shows no trace of blue reflection, on the other hand the brownish yellow band is somewhat broader. It occurs among the type form.” The mention of a letter from Staudinger suggests that type material would be in his collection, currently housed at MfN. Nonetheless, types for this taxon were not found. Although a type locality cannot be established with certainty, in 1969 R.I. Vane-Wright selected and labeled a male from Brazil, Pará, Faro as lectotype of B. actorion form decaerulea. Here we formally designate this specimen as lectotype based on the following. The specimen was examined by CMP and TS, and it matches the decaerulea phenotype described by Weymer and illustrated in Seitz’ Macrolepidoptera of the World Volume 5 plate 60 e. It bears the label “ Faro 86 Hhl ”, indicating that it was collected by Paul Hahnel in 1886. Hahnel participated in Amazon expeditions between 1879–1884 and 1885–1887, well after the establishment of Faro in 1769. The Hahnel collection was sold to Otto Staudinger and his son-in-law Andreas Bang-Hass, possibly after Hahnel’s death in 1887. This time frame allows for the exchange of correspondence between Weymer and Staudinger (deceased in 1900) prior to the description of decaerulea in 1911. Finally, Faro is located north of the Amazon River and east of the Nhamundá River mouth, where MMC collected specimens that match the one collected by Hahnel (Fig. 10 a; a photograph including labels is available at http://butterfliesofamerica.com/L/t/ Bia _a.htm, last accessed 30 August 2016). The lectotype M, deposited in the MfN collection, bears three labels separated by // and transcribed verbatim: Faro 86 Hnl // genitalia vial M-9047 [male symbol] Lee D. Miller // Bia actorion form decaerulea Weym. LECTOTYPE [male symbol] det. R.I. Vane-Wright, 1969 [the latter is printed across the center of the label] // Lectotypus.
Remarks. Geographical variation in some diagnostic characters serves as the basis for the subspecific classification proposed below.
description: Published as part of Penz, Carla M., Casagrande, Mirna M., Devries, Phil & Simonsen, Thomas J., 2017, Documenting diversity in the Amazonian butterfly genus Bia (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), pp. 201-237 in Zootaxa 4258 (3) on page 211, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4258.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/569729