A peculiar new species of Dione (Agraulis) Boisduval & Le Conte (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae) associated with Malesherbia Ruiz & Pavón (Passifloraceae) in xeric western slopes of the Andes

Jackie Farfán, José Cerdeña, Héctor A. Vargas, Gislene L. Gonçalves, Gerardo Lamas, Gilson R.P. Moreira

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Butterflies associated with xerophytic environments of the Andes have been little studied, and they exhibit high levels of endemism. Herein Dione (Agraulis) dodona Lamas & Farfán, sp. nov. (Nymphalidae; Heli-coniinae) is described, distributed on the western slopes of the Andes of Peru and northern Chile, between 800 and 3,000 m elevation. Adults of both sexes, and the immature stages, are described and illustrated based on light and scanning electron microscopy. The immature stages are associated with Malesherbia tenuifolia D. Don (Passifloraceae) found in xeric environments, representing a new record of this genus as a host plant for the subfamily Heliconiinae. Conspicuous morphological differences are presented for all stages at the generic level. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of the COI barcode mitochondrial gene fragment, D. (A.) dodona Lamas & Farfán, sp. nov. is distinguished as an independent lineage within the Agraulis clade of Dione, with ca. 5% difference to congeneric species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)199-227
Number of pages29
JournalZooKeys
Volume2022
Issue number1113
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Jackie Farfán et al.

Keywords

  • Chile
  • Heliconiines
  • Peru
  • immature stages
  • taxonomy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A peculiar new species of Dione (Agraulis) Boisduval & Le Conte (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae) associated with Malesherbia Ruiz & Pavón (Passifloraceae) in xeric western slopes of the Andes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this