Introduction

Cabralia Moore, 1882 (in Jones, 1882), was proposed as a monotypic genus, in the Glotullidae, to include C. trifasciata Moore, 1882, described on the base of a single male reared from a larva feeding on a “prickly climbing plant” by Jones, found near São Paulo, Brazil. A second species, C. hudsoni Schaus, 1933 was added to it, but transferred to Rhosus Walker (Agaristinae) ( Becker, 2010). C. trifasciata has been described at least three times again, by Berg (1885), by Bourquin (1937), and by Kohler (1943) (see synonymy below). Illustrations to allow the identification are provided.

Abbreviations

AMCAlfred Moser Collection, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, BrazilCPACCentro de Pesquisa Agropecuária dos Cerrados, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA), Planaltina, DF, BrazilDFDistrito Federal, BrazilGOGoiás State, Brazilg. s.genitalia slideHTCHubert Thöny Collection, Camacan, Bahia, BrazilMAMaranhão State, BrazilMABRMuseo Argentino Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaMGMinas Gerais State, BrazilMTMato Grosso State, BrazilNHMUKThe Natural History Museum, United KingdomPRParaná State, BrazilRSRio Grande do Sul State, BrazilSCSanta Catarina State, BrazilSPSão Paulo State, BrazilVOBVitor O. Becker Collection, Reserva Serra Bonita, Camacan, Bahia, BrazilZSBSZoologische Sammlung des Bayerischen Staates, Munich, Germany

Cabralia Moore, 1882

Cabralia Moore, 1982, in Jones, 1882, Proc. Lit. phil. Soc. Lpool., 36, 374

TS: Cabralia trifasciata Moore, 1882, Proc. Lit. phil. Soc. Lpool., 36, 374, by monotypy

= Cromobergia Bourquin, 1937, Revta. Soc. ent. Argent., 9, 67

TS: Speocropia smilacis Bourquin, 1937, Revta. Soc. ent. Argent., 9, 67, by monotypy. Syn. nov.

= Cromobergia Köhler, 1943, Revta. Soc. ent. Argent., 12, 30

TS: Cucullia teichii Berg, 1885, An. Soc. cient. Argent., 19, 271, by original designation. A junior homonym of Cromobergia Bourquin, 1937. [Synonymized by Biezanko, Ruffinelli & Carbonell (1957), 62].

Remarks: Cabralia was described in the Glotullidae [=Noctuidae], and later included in the Ophiderinae [=Erebidae] by Nye (1975, p. 93) and by Poole (1989, p. 182). Both Cromobergia Bourquin and Cromobergia Köhler were described in the Acronyctinae (Noctuidae), and treated as such by Biezanko, Ruffinelli & Carbonell (1957, p. 62), and by Hayward (1969, p. 30), but treated as Ophiderinae [=Erebidae], by Nye (1975, p. 141) and by Poole (1989, p. 282), and finally as a Phosphilini by Keegan et al. (2021, p. 19), a tribe that also includes Phosphila Hübner, 1818 and Speocropia Hampson, 1908. As pointed out by Nye (1975, p. 141), Cromobergia originated from Köhler, but was unintentionally made available by Borquin.

Cabralia trifasciata Moore, 1882 ( Figures 1-4, 7)

Cabralia trifasciata Moore, 1882, in Jones, 1882, Proc. Lit. phil. Soc. Lpool., 36, 374. Holotype 1, BRAZIL: SP, São Paulo, III.1880 (Jones) (NHMUK) [examined]. = Cucullia teichii Berg, 1885, An. Soc. cient. Argent., 19, 271. Syntypes, ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires, Las Conchas (MABR) [not examined]. [Synonymized by Biezanko, Ruffinelli & Carbonell (1957, p. 62)]. = Speocropia smilacis Bourquin, 1937, Revta. Soc. ent. Argent., 9, 67. Syntypes ♂, ♀, ARGENTINA: Entre Rios, Concordia (MABR) [“Paratypoid” examined]. Syn. nov.

Diagnosis : Male ( Figures 2, 4) FW length 10-15 mm (23 - 34 mm wingspan), female ( Figure 3) 13 - 18 mm (30-40 mm wingspan). FW gray, with three broad, whitish fasciae, slightly dusted pink: first along costa, from base to before apex; second along termen, from apex to tornus; third connecting basal third of costa to termen, above tornus. HW white in males, broadly bordered gray along termen, with an irregular, diffuse mark at end of cell, in females.

Material examined (37 specimens, 2 g. s.): Argentina: 1 specimen, Entre Rios, Concordia, 58°01’W - 31°22’S, 1-III-1997 (Ruml) (ZSM); Brazil: 1 ♀, RS, Pelotas, 14-VI-1966 (Becker 2854) (VOB); 7 ♂♂, Morro Reuter, Faz. Padre Eterno, 29°,01’ 32”S - 50° 58’W, 500-600 m, 20-VI-1982, 20-IX-2004, 1-3-XI-2004, 21-22-VII-2006, 5-6-X-2007, 19-22-11-2009, 24-25-III-2012 (Moser) (AMC, UTC); 3 ♂♂, Encruzilhada do Sul, 30° 31,2’S - 55° 41,5’W, 300-500 m, 4-6-IX-2004, (Moser) (AMC); 1 ♂, SC, São Joaquim, 1400 m, 25-X-1995 (Becker 97911) (VOB); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, S. Bento do Sul, Serra Rio Natal, 850 m, VIII-X-1998 (Thöny) (HTC); 1 ♀, Urubici, Santa Barbara, 28°08’S - 49°38’W, 1360 m 26-XII-1989 (Mielke & Joerke) (HTC); 1 ♂, PR, Curitiba, 920 m, g. s. 3674, 28-1975 (Becker 2932) (VOB); 1 specimen, Laranjeiras do Sul, 25°24’S - 52°25’W, 300 m, 5-VII-1994 (Pavlas) (ZSBS); 2 ♂♂, SP, São José do Barreiro, Bocaina, 22°43’S - 44°36’W, 1578 m, 15-III-02-IV-1990, g. s. 3126 (Thöny) (HTC); 1 ♂, MG, Dantas Marques, 18°20’S - 43°39’W, 1236 m, 24-X-1989 (Mielke & Joerke) (HTC); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, DF, Planaltina, 13°35’S - 42°42’W, 1100 m, 4-6-III-1978 (Becker 34629) (VOB); 1 ♀, GO, Ilha do Bananal, Rio Javaré, 200 m 14-19-IX-1985 (Becker 64091) (VOB); 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, MT, Poconé, 100 m, 1-7-XII-1997, 22-V-1998 (Becker 111137, 116573) (VOB); 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, MA, Feira Nova, Faz. Retiro, S 07°00’S - 46°26’W, 480 m, 20-27-I-1990, 17-XI-1990, 29-30-XII-1990 (Mielke, Thöny) (HTC); PARAGUAY: 8 specimens, Alto Paraná, Ciudad del Este, 20-VII-8-IX-1994, 25°31’S, 54°37’W, 150 m, (Pavlas) (ZSBS).

Distribution ( Figure 1): Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, South and southwest Brazil, north to the State of Maranhão. It has a wide distribution throughout the areas with open vegetations (the “Pampas”, the “Cerrado”, etc. of southern South America).

Remarks: Nye (1975, p. 93) mentions “Syntypes”, for C. trifasciata, with no indication of depository. However, Jones (1882) mentions that he had one larva, one pupa and one adult that emerged from it. The senior author found a single male specimen, in the MNHUK, bearing Jones’s and Moore’s labels, which certainly is the holotype. Hayward (1930) described the larva and later (Hayward, April 1937), in a lecture presented at a meeting in Mendoza, proposed the name Speocropia smilacis sp. nov., which was published only two years later ( Hayward, 1939). Bourquin (December 1937) published a description of both the immatures and adults as Cromobergia smilacis Hayward, unintentionally making the name available. This description, including the illustrations, was published three times again by Bourquin (1941, 1942, 1944). Biezanko et al. (1957, p. 62) had already applied the senior synonym name, synonymizing Cromobergia teichii Berg under it, an action that apparently has been ignored by all subsequent authors.

Immatures and food-plants: All the descriptions mentioned above were based on specimens reared from caterpillars feeding on the leaves of the host plants. Jones (1882, p. 374) described the immatures, giving “a prickly climbing plant” as the hostplant. This description fits the morphology and behavior of Smilax spp. (Smilacaceae), climbing vines bearing strong, reversed thorns, that not only protect the plants against large herbivores, but provide support for the vines to climb up the surrounding vegetation. Berg (1985, p. 271) gave Muehlenbeckia sagittifolia (Polygonaceae), also climbing vines, as food plant, presumably a misidentification, as all the caterpillars found so far were always feeding on Smilax species. Both Hayward (1930, 1937, 1969) and Bourquin (1937, 1941, 1942, 1945) give S. assumptionis A. DC. (Smilacaceae) as food-plant, in Argentina. Biezanko et al. (1957) give S. brasiliensis Spreng., as the food-plant in Uruguay. The senior author (VOB) reared the larvae on the leaves of Smilax spp., common plants throughout the “Cerrado” biome, the Savannas of Central Brazil.

The larvae ( Figure 7) are bright yellow, banded black, as well illustrated by Jones (1882, pl. 6, figure 20) and by Keegan et al. (2021, p. 18, figure 11B). As they are gregarious, sluggish and very conspicuous, they are either distasteful or mimic other distasteful or poison species, such those of Danaus spp. ( Figure 5) (Nymphalidae) and of Sorocaba anomala Moore, 1882 [= S. carmelitaria (Guenée, [1858]) ( Figure 6) (Apatelodidae), as suggested by Jones & Moore (1882, p. 354, 374, pl. 6, figures 1, 15, 20).

Acknowledgements

Alfred Moser (AMC), and William R. F. Camargo (CPAC) contributed with images and information of specimens in their collection; Scott E. Miller (USNM) reviewed the text and presented several corrections that improved the manuscript. Gabriel Fornari, Reserva Serra Bonita, Camacan, Bahia, Brazil, prepared the illustrations. Antonio Vives, the editor of SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología, did an excellent job to keep the high quality of the publication.

References

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Author notes

*Autor para la correspondencia / Corresponding author