The South American moth Rheumaptera mochica (Dognin, 1904) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae) rediscovered after more than a century of anonymity

Abstract

Rheumaptera mochica (Dognin, 1904) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae) is reported from Chile for the first time. It was described from the western slopes of the Andes of southern Peru more than 100 years ago, and was recently rediscovered in Chile after larvae were collected and reared on the shrub Senna birostris var. arequipensis (Meyen ex Vogel) H.S. Irwin & Barneby (Fabaceae). This discovery expands the known distribution of this moth and provides its first host plant record. The genitalia of R. mochica are described and illustrated for the first time and compared to those of R. affirmata (Guenée, [1858]). A maximum likelihood analysis based on mitochondrial DNA sequences clustered R. mochica as sister to R. affirmata with 3.6–3.8% divergence (K2P). A lectotype is designated for Calocalpe mochica Dognin, 1904.

Larval polyphagy of Cataspilates marceloi (Lepidoptera, Geometridae), a Neotropical geometrid moth with flightless females

“…The phenology of geometrid moths has been little explored in this area, but the available information suggests that different patterns coexist. Two cases of pupal dormancy have been recorded, in one of which larval feeding appears to be synchronized with highest vegetation cover ( Vargas 2021 ), while larval feeding and adult emergence throughout the year has been recorded for two species ( Vargas et al 2020 , 2022 ). Although the highest level of vegetation cover typically occurs shortly after summer rains, some shrubs of this area, including the hosts of C. marceloi , maintain some growth during the dry season ( Muñoz and Bonacic 2006 ), providing food substrate for associated phytophagous Lepidoptera .…”