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

doi:10.3897/zookeys.1113.85769

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

Zookeys. 2022 Jul 18:1113:199-226. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1113.85769. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jackie Farfán^{1

2}, José Cerdeña^{1

2}, Héctor A Vargas³, Gislene L Gonçalves^{3

1}, Gerardo Lamas⁴, Gilson R P Moreira¹

Affiliations

¹ PPG Biologia Animal, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS 91501-970, Brazil.
² Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Av. Alcides Carrión s/n, Arequipa, Peru.
³ Departamento de Recursos Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Tarapacá, Casilla 6-D, Arica, Chile.
⁴ Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre RS, 91501-970, Brazil.

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; Heliconiinae) 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 MalesherbiatenuifoliaD. 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.

Keywords: Chile; Heliconiines; Peru; immature stages; taxonomy.

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