Cynthia terpsichore Philippi 1860

Cynthia terpsichore (Philippi)

Vanesja [sic] terpsichore Philippi, 1859, pp. 1089–1091.

Vanessa terpsichore.—Philippi, 1860, pp. 266–267.—Ureta, 1938b, p. 298; 1938c, p. 127.—Bryk, 1944, p. 10.—Hayward, 1951, p. 196.—Herrera, 1954, pp. 45, 53, pl. 7: figs. 1, 2.—Herrera and Etcheverry, 1956, pp. 278, 286.—Herrera, Etcheverry, and Barrientos, 1958, pp. 240 (fig. 2), 243, 244, 247 (figs. 15–17), 248 (figs. 20, 21), 250–251, pl. 1: figs. 3, 4.

Pyrameis terpsichore.—Kirby, 1871, p. 186.—Reed, 1877, pp. 679–680.—Butler, 1881, p. 467.—Staudinger, 1885, p. 98.—Bartlett-Calvert, 1886, p. 314.—Dixey, 1890, p. 122.—Weymer and Maassen, 1890, pp. 14, 36, 48. 58.—Bartlett-Calvert, 1898. p. 99.—Porter, 1899a, p. 36.—Elwes, 1903, pp. 287–288.—Reuss, 1910a, pp. 65, 66, 67.—Seitt, 1914a, p. 459, pl. 94: figs, A 4, A 5; 1914b, p. 459, pl. 94: figs, A 4, A5.—Stephan, 1924, p. 25.—Bullock, 1934. p. 47.—Ureta, 1934. p. 79; 1935, p. 94.—Ruiz and Stuardo, 1935, p. 315.

Payrameis [sic] terpsichore.—Reed, 1877, p. 735.

Pyrameis virginiensis (Drury), Berg not Drury [a misidentification], 1882, p. 166.

Pyrames [sic] iterpsichore [sic].—Ureta [a misspelling for Pyrameis terpsichore], 1935, p. 87.

C. terpsichore, like C. annabella and C. carye, has the subapical bar on forewing above just beyond cell tawny, not white, in both sexes; it can easily be distinguished from the latter two species by the presence of a sinuous and fuscous band on the upper surface of the hindwing that runs from the costal margin across wing to the hind margin just above anal angle. It differs from all other species in the genus, except some specimens of C. braziliensis, by having two, not four, or more submarginal ocular spots on upper surfaces of hindwing.

MALE (Figures 131, 132).—Forewing above with subapical bar just beyond cell tawny, not white, and rather straight, not inwardly curved as it is in C. myrinna; with a series of subapical and submarginal spots down to vein M3 white and with a small white spot in interspace Cu1; with a marginal bluish-white line from apex of wing to vein M1, greatly obscured below this vein; light areas of wing tawny in color; fuscous markings in base of wing and on lower half almost as greatly reduced as in C. annabella and C. carye.

Hindwing above tawny, with the sinuous fuscous band described before, and with two submarginal ocular markings, one each in interspaces M1 and Cu1.

Forewing underneath, as in the other species of Cynthia, with many of the same markings that occur on the upper surfaces, particularly the white subapical bar just beyond cell, the series of white subapical and submarginal spots found below costa and between there and vein R5, the white spot in interspaces R5 and M1 (here reduced to mere points), and the white spots in interspaces M2 and Cu1 (here more reduced than in C. myrinna, C. altissima, and C. braziliensis); the bluish lines found in C. myrinna behind the subapical white bar and between this bar and the fuscous bar opposite end of cell are here greatly obscured and are replaced by tawny along lower half of outer side of this fuscous bar; white bar crossing cell along inner edge of this fuscous bar in C. myrinna, C. altissima, and C. braziliensis absent, replaced by the tawny ground color; fuscous markings in base of wing and near lower angle similar to those markings above, more reduced in size.

Hindwing underneath with yellowish band crossing middle of wing from costa to anal angle not straight as in C. myrinna, projected outward along vein M3 as it is in C. altissima, C. braziliensis, and most other species of Cynthia; this band becoming white, almost silvery in interspace M2; with two ocular markings, one each in interspaces M1 and Cu1, very small in size, the one in interspace Cu1 slightly the larger of the two.

Length of forewing, 23–27 mm (average 25 mm).

Male genitalia as illustrated by Figure 13 (drawn from my preparation no. 3665), similar to those of C. braziliensis, C. virginiensis, and C. altissima, differing chiefly in the valva; costal spine of valva similar to that of C. braziliensis, located just below the greatest projection of costal lobe; junction of lower and distal margins lacking the acute lobe found in C. braziliensis and thus similar to C. altissima and C. virginiensis; cuiller smooth and somewhat shorter than in those species and clasper directed inward toward opposite valva as in C. cardui; aedeagus similar to that of C. braziliensis.

FEMALE (Figures 133, 134).—This sex shows very definitely a more rounded outer margin on the hindwing, and the outer margins of forewing at ends of interspaces Cu1 and Cu2 are more produced outwardly near end of vein Cu2.

Length of forewing, 25–28 mm (average 27 mm).

Female genitalia as illustrated by Figure 29 (drawn from my preparation no. 6438), similar to those of C. cardui, with lobes of seventh and eighth sternites nearly as large as in C. myrinna; with lateral pockets between seventh and eighth sternites very small; signa longer than in C. myrinna; ovipositors without teethlike spines.

METHOD OF IDENTIFICATION.—The original description by Philippi (1859, p. 1089) was sufficient to identify his name for the species here described. The type locality is given as “Frequens prope Santiago, in prov. Valdiva etc.”

LIFE HISTORY.—The food plants and immature stages are unknown.

DISTRIBUTION.—This species is found in Chile from the Province of Atacama south into the Province of Aysen. Weymer and Maassen (1890) report it also from Colombia and Ecuador, but I believe these records should be verified.

MATERIAL STUDIED.—Eight males and five females were studied from the following localities: CHILE: Andes (March, 6,000 ft); Angol; Penco.