SEMATURINAE

'Sematurinae' is a subfamily of moths in the family Sematuridae, represented by at least 29 species in the Neotropics.

Contents

Taxonomy, classification and identification

Behaviour

Biology

Larval hostplants

References

Sources

External links

Provisional list of species (based on LepIndex)

Taxonomy, classification and identification

'Sematurinae' has three principal genera, and possibly another two. The hindwing of ''Coronidia'' is distinguished by an iridescent blue band[1], but ''Homidiana'' characteristically has pink, orange or yellow markings[2], especially in females (Minet and Scoble, 1999). The genus ''Sematura'' is large, brown and tailed, resembling to some extent the genus ''Lyssa''. The approximately twelve other sematurid species in the genera ''Anurapteryx'' and ''Lonchotura'' are placed here for now (making about 41 species) but may not belong in this subfamily; one species, ''Anurapteryx crenulata'' reaches the subtropics of Arizona [3] (Minet and Scoble, 1999). The relationships within Sematuridae clearly need deeper investigation.

★ Note: the name ''Nothus'' is preoccupied by a genus of Coleoptera[4] so despite its lack of date precedence the name ''Sematura'' should be preferred (Minet and Scoble, 1999). ''Mania'' was however described at an earlier date (1821; 1823 listed in LepIndex) than ''Sematura'' according to Index Animalium [5] so whilst this is not a name in popular use, the priority issue should be further examined.

Behaviour

The adult moths of 'Sematurinae' are either day or night-flying, depending on the genus and have the wings outspread at rest and the genus ''Sematura'' displays impressive eyespots at the hindwing tails[6].

Biology

The biology of 'Sematurinae' is so far poorly known. The larva of ''Homidiana'' was illustrated by Westwood (1879) who incorrectly placed it among ''Coronidia'', and was described by Fassl (1910). In 1995-1998, caterpillars were found in Costa Rica[7]. Sematurine eggs have been described by Minet and Scoble (1999:302), and are upright, high, with vertical and finer transverse ribs. The caterpillars of ''Homidiana subpicta'' have rows of black spines either side of the dorsal midline and five pairs of prolegs[8]. The larva of ''Coronidia orithea'' lacks such spines, and is well camouflaged like a lichen-covered twig[9] and has realistic-looking false eyes making it resemble a predatory spider[10]. The larvae of ''Sematura'' were reared in Costa Rica in 2001 and are a bit similar to those of ''Coronidia'' being well camouflaged but bearing small projections rather than long spines one the dorsal surface[11]. Like some Uraniidae, pupation occurs on the ground among debris. The pupa of ''Homidiana'' has a long projecting proboscis "sheath" [12] with eight hooklets at the cremaster tip (Minet and Scoble, 1999).

Larval hostplants

The caterpillar of ''Coronidia orithea'' is so far only known to feed on mistletoes (Viscaceae: ''Phoradendron quadrangulare''). ''Homidiana subpicta'' feeds on a more diverse range of plants, including the families Araliaceae (''Oreopanax''), Gesneriaceae, Myrsinaceae (''Ardisia'', ''Myrsine'', Piperaceae (''Piper''), Solanaceae (''Solanum''), Onagraceae (''Ludwigia'') and Theophrastaceae (''Clavija'')[13]. ''"Sematura luna"''[14] reared in 2001 whose well-camouflaged larva is reported to feed on the legume ''Pentaclethra macroloba'' (Mimosoideae) and on ''Syzygium longifolium'' (Myrtaceae).

References

★ Fassl, A.H. (1910). Die Raupe einer Uranide. ''Z. wiss. InsektBiol'', '6'(10): 355.

★ Minet, J. and Scoble, M. J. (1999) [1998] The Drepanoid/Geometroid Assemblage. Pp. 301-320 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.), 1999 [1998]. ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1, Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography''. Handbook of Zoology, vol. IV, Arthropoda: Insecta, Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin and New York.

★ Westwood, J.O. 1879. Observations on the Uraniidae, a family of Lepidopterous Insects, with a Synopsis of the Family and a Monograph of ''Coronidia'', one of the genra of which it is composed. ''Transactions of the Zoological Society'', '10'(12): 1-35, 3 plates.

Sources

★ NHM Lepindex

★ Dyer, L.A. and G.L. Gentry. 2002. Caterpillars and parasitoids of a tropical lowland wet forest. http://www.caterpillars.org. Accessed: March 2007.

External links

★ NHM Lepindex

★ Markku Savela's website: ''Anurapteryx'' and ''Lonchotura''

★ Insecta. Lepidoptera-Heterocera . Volume III (1881-1900) by Herbert Druce

★ LepTree ''Coronidia orithea''

★ Barcoding progress

★ LepTree nuclear gene sequencing progress

★ Moths of South-East Arizona (''Anurapteryx crenulata'')

Provisional list of species (based on LepIndex)

★ ''Coronidia erecthea'' Westwood, 1879 [Type locality Espiritu Santu, Brazil] Card

★ ''Coronidia hyphasis'' (Hopffer, 1856) (originally in ''Coronis'') [Type locality Mexico]Card

★ ''Coronidia orithea'' (Cramer, Papill. Exot. 3:121) (originally in ''Phalaena'') [Type locality Surinam] [15][16][17]

★
★ =''? durvillii'' Guenée, 1857Card

★
★ =''Coronidia hysudrus'' Hopffer, 1857Card

★
★ =''Coronidia boreada'' Westwood, 1879Card

★ ''Coronidia difficilis'' Strand, 1911 [Type locality Chanchamayo, Peru]Card

★
★ =''Coronidia ecuadorensis'' Strand, 1911var. of ''difficilis''

★ ''Homidiana aeneophlebia'' (Hampson, Novitates Zoologia 25:374) (originally in ''Homidia'')Card

★ ''Homidiana anilina'' Bryk, 1930 [Type locality Bolivia] Card

★ ''Homidiana brachyura'' Hampson, Novit. Zool. 25:373 (originally in ''Coronidia'' subg. (''Homidiana'')) Card

★ ''Homidiana briseis'' (Westwood, 1879) (originally in ''Coronidia)Card

★ ''Homidiana canace'' Hopffer, 1856[18][19]Card

★
★ =''Coronidia aeola'' Westwood, 1879Card

★
★ =''Coronidia paulina'' Westwood, 1879Card

★
★ =''Coronis cana'' Hopffer, 1856Card

★ ''Homidiana egina'' (Blanchard, 1849) (originally in ''Coronidia'') Card

★
★ =''Homidiana nicaraguana'' Westwood, 1879Card

★ ''Homidiana evenus'' Boisduval, 1849

★
★ =''Coronis ducatrix'' Schaufuss, 1870Card

★
★ =''Homidia subevenus'' Strand, 1911Card

★ ''Homidiana gueneei'' (Druce, 1891) (originally in ''Coronidia'') [Type locality Panama, Mexico]) Card

★ ''Homidiana hoppi'' (Bryk, 1930) (originally in ''Coronidia'') [type locality Colombia]Card

★ ''Homidiana leachi'' (Godart, 1819) (originally in ''Ag[u]arista'') [Type locality Brazil] Card

★
★ =''Homidiana japet'' (Blanchard, 1849) (originally in ''Coronis'') [Type locality Brazil] Card

★ ''Homidiana lederi'' Pfeiffer, 1925 [Type locality Macas, Ecuador] Card

★ ''Homidiana leucosticta'' Hampson, 1918 (originally in ''Coronidia'' subg. ''Homidia'') [Type locality Peru] Card

★ ''Homidiana strandi'' Pfeiffer, 1916 [Type locality Peru] Card

★ ''Homidiana monotona'' (Hampson, 1918) (originally in ''Coronidia'') [type locality Huaylas, Peru]Card

★ ''Homidiana restincta'' Strand, 1911 [type locality Macas, Ecuador] (originally in ''Homidia'') Card

★ ''Homidiana rosina'' (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875) (originally in ''Coronis'') [type locality Bogata, Colombia]) Card

★
★ =''Coronidia columbiana'' Westwood, 1879 Card

★ ''Homidiana rubrivena'' (Dognin, 1919) (originally in ''Coronidia) [type locality Colombia] Card

★ ''Homidiana subpicta'' Walker, 1854 as ''"Coronidia subpicta"''[20][21][22][23][24]as "Coronidia subpicta"Card

★
★ =''Coronidia biblina'' Westwood, 1879Card

★
★ =''Homidiana echenais'' Hopffer, 1856[25]Card

★
★ =''Coronidia granadina'' Westwood, 1879Card

★ ''Homidiana tangens'' (Strand, 1911) (originally in ''Homidia'') [Type locality Macas, Ecuador] Card

★ ''Homidiana traducta'' (Strand, 1911) (originally in ''Homidia'') [Type locality 2-3000 m. Chaco, Bolivia] Card

★ ''Homidiana westwoodi'' Oberthür, 1881 (originally in ''Coronis'') [Type locality Manazales, Colombia] Card

★ ''Sematura aegisthus'' Fabricius, 178[Jamaica/Surinam] [26]"Nothus" speciesCard

★
★ =''Mania lunigeraria'' Hübner, 1823 [1825]Card

★
★ =''Sematura excavatus'' Walker, 1854Card

★
★ =''Sematura phoebe'' Guenée, 1857Card

★ ''Sematura diana'' Guenée, 1857 [Rio de Janeiro]Card

★ ''Sematura lunus'' Linnaeus, 1758[27]Card

★
★ =''Sematura actaeon'' Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874Card

★
★ =''Mania caudilunaria'' Hübner, 1823 [1925]Card

★ ''Sematura empedocles'' Cramer, 1782 [Type locality Surinam][28]Card

★
★ =''Sematura selene'' Guenée, 1857Dyer/Gentry/''"Sematura luna"''[29]Card

★
★ =''Mania empedoclaria'' Hübner, 1823 Card

★ ''Anurapteryx beckeri'' (Druce, 1897) (originally in ''Coronidia'') [Type locality Mexico, near Durangs City] Card

★ ''Anurapteryx brueckneri'' Hering, 1928Card

★ ''Anurapteryx crenulata'' Barnes & Lindsey, 1919 [Type locality Paradise, Arizona] Card Image

★ ''Anurapteryx flavidorsata'' (Hampson, 1918) (originally in ''Homidia'') [no card]

★ ''Anurapteryx gephyra'' Hering, 1928 [Type locality Guatamala] Card

★ ''Anurapteryx interlineata'' (Walker, 1854) [Central and South America, no type locality given] (originally in ''Coronis'')Card

★
★ =''Anurapteryx abbreviata'' (Maassen, 1890) (originally in ''Coronis'') [Type locality Banos, Ecuador, 1800 m.] Card

★
★ =''Anurapteryx meticulosa'' Pief, Ent. Zt. 31:7 (originally in ?(Type locality West Colombia, Rio Aguacabal, 2000 m., by Fassl) Card

★ ''Anurapteryx insolita'' (Strand, 1911) (originally in ''Homidia'') [No type locality] Card

★ ''Anurapteryx montana'' Beutelspacher, 1984 [Type locality Mexico] Card

★ ''Anurapteryx ribbei'' (Druce, 1891) (originally in ''Coronidia'') [Type locality Chiriqui, Panama] Card

★ ''Lonchotura fassli'' Pfeiffer, Ent. Zt. 31:7, Pl. (originally in ?) [Type locality West Colombia, Rio Aguacabal, by Fassl] Card

★ ''Lonchotura ocylus'' (Boisduval, 1870) (originally in ''Coronis'') [Type locality Guatamala] [30]

★
★ =''Lonchotura dutreuxi'' Deyrolle, 1874 (originally in ''Coronis'') [Type locality Costa Rica] Card

★
★ =''Lonchotura peruviana'' Hering, 1928 (originally in ?) [Type locality Chachamayo, Peru]
Card

★ ''Lonchotura genevana'' Westwood, 1879 (originally in ''Coronidia'') [Type locality Mexico] Card