The finding of Castnia invaria penelope Schaufuss, 1870 in Ecuador (Rio Napo) is highlighted, thus extendingthe body of knowledge on the distribution of the ssp. Additional information on the genus and the congenericspecies is also provided

Roberto Vinciguerra

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INTRODUCTIONThe Castnids are nocturnal lepidoptera withdiurnal (or crepuscular) habits. They are distrib-uted mainly in the Neotropical region. Data con-cerning their distribution are fragmentary at best,and they are under-represented in institutional andprivate collections (González, 2004; Lamas, 1995;Vinciguerra & Racheli, 2006; Vinciguerra, 2011). Several recent studies have extended the taxo-nomic body of knowledge on the family with thedescription of a new taxon (Athis pirrelloi Vin-ciguerra, 2011), the male of this interesting specieswas located twelve years after the capture of theholotype and it is also currently being described.Three species have shown a more extensivegeographical distribution than previouslythought Divana diva hoppi (Hering, 1923), pre-viously known to exist only in Colombia andnow discovered also in Ecuador (Esmeraldas)(Vinciguerra, 2010); Athis palatinus staudingeri(Druce, 1896) described in Panama and capturedin Costa Rica (Corcovado) (Vinciguerra &González, 2011) and, lastly, Amauta hodeeikruegeri (Niepelt, 1927) also consideredendemic to Colombia and now located inEcuador (personal data).Castnia invaria Walker, 1854 is a widely stud-ied species mainly because of its pest status onpineapple (Ananas spp., Bromeliaceae) planta-tions. This is a widely distributed species in SouthAmerica and four sub-specific entities are recog-nized: C. invaria  invaria Walker, 1854, C. i.penelope Schaufuss, 1870, C. i. trinitatis Lathy,1925, C. i. volitans Lamas, 1995 (Lamas, 1995).Castnia invaria penelope Schaufuss, 1870The distribution of Castnia invaria penelope(Figs. 1-2) includes Argentina, Bolivia, Braziland Paraguay. The taxonomic rank of the afore-mentioned subspecies requires further researchbecause their status could be considered uncleardue to a significant polymorphism. As all the ssp.known, the  larvae feed on several Bromeliaceae,including  pineapples (Ananas spp., Bromeli-aceae). The imago has diurnal habits and theadults of Castnia invaria penelope have beenobserved flying (Paraguay) between 11 am andnoon (Ríos & González, 2011).We point out the presence of this species alsoin Ecuador (Rio Napo) on the basis of two spec-imens, collected in this region in 1974.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to extend a special thanks to J. M.González (Texas A & M University) for com-ments given during the drafting stage of thisshort note.Notes on the distribution of Castnia invaria penelope Schaufuss,1870 (Lepidoptera, Castniidae)Roberto VinciguerraVia XX settembre, 64 - 90141 Palermo, Italy; e-mail: rob.vinciguerra@tiscali.itBiodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (3): 149-150ABSTRACT The finding of Castnia invaria penelope Schaufuss, 1870 in Ecuador (Rio Napo)  is highlighted, thus exten-ding the body of knowledge on the distribution of the ssp. Additional information on the genus and the conge-neric species is also provided.KEY WORDS Lepidoptera, Castniidae, Castnia.Received 18.09.2011; accepted 24.09.2011; printed 30.09.2011REFERENCESGonzález J.M., 2004. Castniinae (Lepidoptera: Castniidae)from Venezuela. VI. The genus Athis. Diagnosis andcomments. Caribbean Journal of Science, 40: 408-413.Lamas G., 1995. A critical review of J.Y. Miller’s Checklistof the Neotropical Castniidae (Lepidoptera).RevistaPeruana de Entomología,  37: 73-87.Ríos S. & González J.M., 2011. Synopsis of the Castniidae(Lepidoptera) of Paraguay. Zootaxa (in press). Vinciguerra R. & González J.M., 2011.   Observations ondistribution  of Athis palatinus staudingeri (Druce,1896) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Shilap Revista deLepidopterología, 39: 155-159.Vinciguerra R. & Racheli L., 2006. Note sulla distribuzionedi alcuni Castnidi in Perù (Lepidoptera, Castniidae),Berichte des Kreises Nürnberger Entomologen V, 22:27-39.Vinciguerra R., 2010. Osservazioni sulla distribuzione diDivana diva hoppi (Hering, 1923), (Lepidoptera:Castniidae). Shilap Revista de Lepidopterología, 38:379-383. Vinciguerra R., 2011. Observations on the genus Athis Hübner,[1819] and description of a new species from Peru (Lepi-doptera, Castniidae), Biodiversity Journal, 2: 97-102.150 ROBERTO VINCIGUERRAFigure 1. Castnia invaria penelope female, Ecuador, Rio Napo, 04.1974, width 80 mm.Figure 2. Castnia invaria penelope male, Ecuador, Rio Napo, 04.1974, width 120 mm.Fig. 1Fig. 2

Notes on the distribution of Castnia invaria penelope Schaufuss, 1870 (Lepidoptera, Castniidae)

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Notes on the distribution of Castnia invaria penelope Schaufuss, 1870 (Lepidoptera, Castniidae)

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