Introduction

The present paper contains new data on the taxonomy of the Palaearctic noctuid genus Dasypolia Guenée, 1852 including more than a hundred species according to our recent knowledge, with some still waiting for description. The genus is distributed predominantly in the mountain massifs of Asia, reaching the highest species diversity in the Himalayan region. Many Dasypolia species have been described during the last three decades (HACKER & PEKS, 1990; 1992; 1996; RONKAY & VARGA, 1990; RONKAY & PLANTE, 1992; RONKAY & ZILLI, 1993; GYULAI & RONKAY, 1995; HREBLAY & RONKAY, 1995; 1999; RONKAY et al., 1995; HACKER & RONKAY, 1996; HREBLAY & RONKAY, 1998; HREBLAY et al., 1998; RONKAY et al., 1998; IVINSKIS & SALDAITIS, 2010; BENEDEK et al., 2011; VOLYNKIN, 2012; BENEDEK et al., 2014; RONKAY et al., 2014; BENEDEK & SALDAITIS, 2014).

D. lithophila (Kapur, 1960) was described, based on a single female as a member of subgenus Cteipolia Staudinger, 1896, later RONKAY & ZILLI (1993) transferred it to the subgenus Sinipolia which was upgraded to generic level by BENEDEK & SALDAITIS (2014). During a climbing expedition to the Annapurna Himalaya in Nepal in November, 1990 (Fig. 5), two male specimens of lithophila were collected. The examination of the male genitalia revealed that lithophila does not belong to Sinipolia, but to an undescribed subgenus of Dasypolia. The new subgenus and the male of lithophila are described below.

Material and methods

Institutional abbreviations are as follows: BBT = coll. Balázs Benedek (Törökbálint, Hungary); GBG/ZSM = coll. Gottfried Behounek (Grafing, Germany) / Zoologische Staatssammlung München (Germany); MČ K = coll. Matjaẑ Černila (Kamnik, Slovenia); ZSI = coll. Zoological Survey of India (Kolkata, India). Male and female genitalia were studied after boiling the abdomen for a short time in 7 % KOH solution and the vesica was everted. Pictures were processed using Adobe Photoshop CS4 software.

Taxonomy

Genus Dasypolia Guenée, 1852

Dasypolia Guenée, 1852, in Boisduval & Guenée, Histoire Naturelle des Insectes. Spécies Général des

Lépidoptéres. Noctuelites, 2: 44.

Type-species: Noctua templi Thunberg, 1792.

Type locality: Sweden.

Subgenus Kapuria Benedek, Volynkin & Černila, subgen. n.

Type species: Cteipolia lithophila Kapur, 1960.

Diagnosis: The new, as yet monotypic subgenus is similar to the recently described subgenus Kitapolia Benedek, Behounek, Floriani & Saldaitis, 2011 (Figs. 6, 2). External differences are the longer male antennae with longer pectination and the more triangular shape of forewings with a more acute apex and diffuse patterns of Kapuria. The autapomorphic characters of the male genitalia structure in Kapuria are the short but broad, oblonge-shaped uncus, the characteristically ellipticalshaped harpe with much weaker basis and the short but evenly moderately narrow valvae. The aedeagus is strongly curved in its first third, the coecum is much smaller, the carina is represented by a few short, small spines on the dorsal side, the vesica is long and membranous without spiculi but with a coarse surface.

Etymology: The subgeneric name is dedicated to A. P. Kapur, the author of the type species.

Dasypolia (Kapuria) lithophila (Kapur, 1960) comb. n. (Figs. 1-3, 6-7)

Cteipolia lithophila Kapur, 1960: 118.

Type locality: E Nepal, Khumbu, Bhote Kosi Valley.

Type material examined: Photographs of the holotype 0 (Fig. 3): •“Nepal, Daily Mail 1954, Himalaya Expd., B. Biswas Coll.” / “Nepal (eastern) Khambu, above Marlung, Bhote Kasi Valley, ca. 16000 ft., 9 Mar. 1954, B. Biswas coll.” / “on bare rocks, coloration perfectly matching with suchrocks” / “female genitalia on slide” / “z. s. l. Reg. No. 224/H10” / “Type” (coll. ZSI).

Additional material examined: 2 11: “Nepal, Annapurna mtn. range, vic. v. Lethe, mt. Nilgiri, 4300 m, Miristi Khola val., N basecamp Annapurna I. 28º 37’ 36” N, 83º 45’ 37” E. 23 Nov. 1990, Jamnik A.”, slide No. AV0928 Volynkin (colls. BBT and MCˇ K).

Diagnosis: Externally, male of D. lithophila (Figs. 1-2) is similar to the single Kitapolia species, D. kita Benedek, Behounek, Floriani & Saldaitis, 2011 (Fig. 4), but differs in the longer male antennae with longer pectination, somewhat larger size, more elongated and triangular forewing shape with a more acute apex, lighter forewing coloration with more diffuse patterns, narrower medial area, more strongly wavy ante-and postmedian fascia, lighter reniform without a black streak on its proximal side, cell shadowed between reniform and orbicular stigma and lighter hindwing with absence of a discal spot. The male genitalia of D. lithophila (Fig. 7) differ from those of D. kita (Fig. 8) in the shorter and much broader uncus, the larger juxta, the smaller and more rounded vinculum, the narrower and somewhat shorter valva with parallel margins, the ventrally more sclerotized costa between the sacculus and cucullus, the less sclerotised sacculus, the weaker clasper, the larger, characteristically elliptical-shaped harpe with weaker and narrower base, the more curved aedeagus with a smaller coecum, the presence of the thin carinal spines on the dorsal side and the absence of the numerous spiculi on the vesica.

Description of male (Figs. 1-2): Wingspan 30 mm, length of forewing 13 mm. Antennae broadly bipectinate. Head, thorax and abdomen greyish-brown, densely hairy. Forewings triangular in shape with apex acute, ground color of forewings greyish-brown with rather diffuse patterns, costal margin with seven large, dark brown spots, crosslines well-defined, dark brown, subbasal fascia diffuse, anteand postmedial fascia rather broad and strongly wavy, subterminal fascia irregularly wavy, terminal fascia represented by a row of dark brown spots between veins, orbicular and reniform stigmata small, pale sandy-brown coloured, the cell between the spots is dark filled, cilia long, mixed with light sandybrown and dark hairs. Hindwing light dirty-white, discal spot not visible, cilia long, colored like the hindwing.

Male genitalia (Fig. 7): Uncus spatula-like, short but broad, with parallel margins, apically rounded with fine medio-apical incision; tegumen short and broad, positioned moderately high; penicular lobes well developed, rectangular in shape, apically setose; juxta large, shield-like; vinculum short, rounded, narrow U-shaped; valvae elongated, relatively narrow, apically slightly tapering with parallel margins; clasper long, thin, weakly sclerotised, harpe large, broadly elliptical, with narrow basis; aedeagus short and narrow, strongly curved in basal section, coecum long, carina armed with a small patch of thin spiculi on the dorsal side; vesica membranous, almost straight with coarse Surface and without diverticulum.

Figs. 1-2
Dasypolia lithophila, adults.

1. Male, Nepal, Annapurna Mtts. (MCK); 2. ditto (BBT).

Female genitalia (Fig. 6) were described in details by KAPUR (1962).

Distribution: The species is known only from Nepal. The habitat is the highest ecozone of the region, far above the timberline (Fig. 5).

Figs 3-8.–
Dasypolia spp. adults (3-4), biotope (5), female (6) and male genitalia (7-8).

3. D. lithophila, holotype 0, eastern Nepal (ZSI, photo by Sh. Saroj); 4. D. kita, holotype 1, China (GBG/ZSM); 5. Nepal, Annapurna Himalaya, Nilgiri Mt., the collecting site of D. lithophila males (Photo by A. Jamnik); 6. Female genitalia of D. lithophila holotype, after Kapur (1962); 7. Male genitalia of D. lithophila, slide AV0928 Volynkin; 8. Male genitalia of D. kita, holotype, slide GB7014 Behounek.

Discussion

Up to the present genus Dasypolia was subdivided into eleven subgenera (RONKAY et al., 2001; BENEDEK et al., 2011; RONKAY et al., 2014; BENEDEK & SALDAITIS, 2014), six of which have recently been described (BENEDEK et al., 2011; BENEDEK & SALDAITIS, 2014). Kapuria is the twelfth subgenus.

Check list of Dasypolia subgenera:

1. Dasypolia Guenée, 1852

2. Yetipolia Benedek & Saldaitis, 2014

3. Fumopolia Benedek & Saldaitis, 2014

4. Dasythorax Staudinger, 1889

5. Dasymixis Ronkay & Varga, 1990

6. Auropolia Hreblay & Ronkay, 1999

7. Zheduopolia Benedek & Saldaitis, 2014

8. Cteipolia Staudinger, 1896

9. Chalapolia Benedek, Behounek, Floriani & Saldaitis, 2011

10. Kitapolia Benedek, Behounek, Floriani & Saldaitis, 2011

11. Kapuria Benedek, Volynkin & Černila, subgen. nov.

12. Tatsipolia Benedek, Behounek, Floriani & Saldaitis, 2011

Agradecimientos

We are very grateful to Mrs. Alenka Jamnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia) for material collected and the biotope picture, Mrs. Sheela Saroj (Kolkata, India) for valuable type photographs; to Mr. János Babics (Budapest, Hungary) for his great help with genitalia and imago photographing and Mr. Gottfried Behounek (Grafing, Germany) for loaning the holotype of Dasypolia kita for our studies.

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Notas de autor

volynkin_a@mail.ru