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Tomasz W. Pyrcz: Zoological Museum of the Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena
6,30-060 Kraków, Poland
e-mail: pyrcz@zuk.iz.uj.edu.pl

     perolito@polbox.com.pl

A new species of  Catasticta ( Pieridae ), Catasticta Revancha, is described from the cloud forest of the Tamá range in  Venezuela. Its mimetic resemblance to the sympatryc Leptophobia eleone, expressed by wing colour pattern and also habitat preference and behaviour, is discussed.

Entomology, taxonomy, behaviour, Venezuela, Catasticta revancha n. sp., cloud forest, colour pattern, endémic, isolation, Leptophobia eleone, mimicry, pierids, warning colours.

The Tamá region is the noth-easternmost part of the Andean Eastern Cordillera which extends into the Venezuelan State of Táchira. It is a relatively little isolated and not particularly high mountain chain and its highest peaks reach slightly above 3600 m.a. s. l.   Nevertheless, its cloud forest and paramo fauna of lepidoptera reveal a considerable ratio of endemic taxa at a specific and even generic level ( Pyrcz et. al., in press) With the notable exception of the apparently relic genus and species Tamania jacqueline ( Pyrcz 1995 ), most endemics of the Tamá show close affinities with species occurring either in the Cordillera of Mérida (situated just north of the San Cristóbal depression), or  with the rest of the Colombianan Eastern Cordillera.This howewer is not the case with the new species of Catasticta, described herein, whose closest ally occurs as far away as southern Ecuador. This new species is unique for its amazing mimetic resemblance to another montane pierid, Leptophobia eleone Doubleday. ( See: D'Abrera 1981 )

Diagnosis:

The closest ally of this new species is clearly Catasticta poujadei DOGNIN, from souther Ecuador, which shares a similar pattern but differs in that its ground colour is white while in Catasticta revancha it is lemon yellow. The new species from  Venezuela is also smaller and has a less pointed forewing apex and no dentate hindswing margin. Both species belong in the clara of the  invalid sub-genus Hesperochoia of  Catasticta as defined by Reissinger (1972).

Male:

Head: Eyes chestnut, naked. Palpi yellow costally, black dorsally, palpal hair long, half length of palpi, yellow and black, terminal tufts black. Antennae to two thirs costa, shaft laterally yellow and black, club concave (spoonshaped), prominent, black.  Torax:  dorsally black covered with loose grey hair. Ventrally covered with dense pale yellow hair, particularly thick along hind tibia. Abdomen: Dorsally black, slightly hairy. Ventrally and laterally, yellow on lower one third. Forewing: length 19,5 mm. ( n=4 ). Wing shape triangular. Upperside ground colour rich lemon yellow, a grey black area extending from base into discal cell from root of vein Cu2 to mid cell on costa, with diffused outer margin. An intensely black patch on outer margin of discal cell, connected along costa with a black subapical, apical, submarginal y marginal area. A series  of five submarginal yellow dots, largest of all in cell Rs and MI triangular. Outer margin delicately scalloped. Fringes short, yellow. Underside ground colour paler lemon yellow.Black elements of colour pattern reflected from upperside, paler altogether, except patch on outer margin of discal cell. Faint dark submarginal and marginal area showing through from upperside. Black markings along the veins in subapical area. V-shaped black marginal area. Hindwing: Ground colour rich lemon yellow, same as on forewing. Basal area black.  Pattern of underside black lines faintly showing through. Marginal black dots on veins. Underside ground pale yellow. Pattern of black lines same as in related species, such as Catasticta poujadei.

Main structures similar in shape to related species of the subgenus Hesperochoia, for example C. Crysolopha Kollar.

Male genitalia

Sexual dimorphism slight. Female slightly larger than male. Forewing: length 20 mm. ( n=3 ) Black markings and yellow ground colour slightly paler.Hindwing: Ground colour of upperside slightly lighter, pale yellow.

Unknown.

Holotipe male:  Fundo Piedra Blanca, San Vicente de la Revancha, Parque Nacional "El Tamá", Edo.Táchira. Venezuela, 2350 m, 10 April 1996  leg.T. Pyrcz & F.Rey, depository: B.M.N.H. , London (U.K. ); Allotype female:same locality, 06 de June 1995, leg. F. Rey, depository: B.M.N.H., London (U.K.) Paratypes: 3 males and 2 females, same locality as primary types, depository: 1 male and 1 female  M.A.L.U.Z., Maracaibo ( Venezuela ), 1 male and 1 female coll. Francisco De La Villa, Pto.Ayacucho (Venezuela.),1 male coll.M.Z.U.J., Kracovia ( Poland).

This species is named after the Valley of San Vicente de la Revancha in the  Tamá Range where all specimens were collected.

So far known exclusively from one site called Fundo Piedra Blanca just above the locality of San Vicente de la Revancha, El Tamá range, north-eastern extremity of the Eastern Cordillera,  Táchira state, Venezuela, a 2350 m.

January - June.

This beautiful species is outstanding for its unique resemblance to another pierid Leptophobia eleone. The two species are similar in size, wing shape, yellow ground colour and pattern of the black markings. However, what is more striking is that they share the same habitat and fligth pattern. Leptophobia eleone  is a widespread species ocurring on middle to high elevations in the Andes to Perú to northen Venezuela and Colombia.  It is quite common in its habitat. It usually flies over open areas, marshy meadows, secundary bushes, and along streams and roads. Nevertheless, it does not fly over cultivated areas nor is it as abundant as Leptophobia aripa. It does not penetrate deep into the cloud forest, contrary to most congeners such as Leptophobia penthica or Leptophobia tovaria. In San Vicente de la Revancha ( El  Tamá range ) Leptophobia eleone is frequent throughout the year. Catasticta revancha was observed and collected exclusively in one spot on the edge of remnant cloud forest situaded below a steep limestone ridge, beside a mountain stream. All the specimens of the Catasticta revancha were collected during short periods of sunshine in the early afternoon ( between 12.30 and 14.30 ) in precisely the same spot, when flying downhill over a marshy meadow along the forest edge. Their flight is slower and erratic than that of  Colias or Tatochila so they are quite easy to catch. C. revancha y L. eleone behave in exactly the same way but the latter species is far more frequent. L.  eleone also occurs in the other areas of San Vicente de la Revancha and El Tamá, while Catasticta revancha, quite remarkably, is still only know from the same spot where the first specimen of this species was collected. Catasticta revancha does not behave like other Catasticta which occur in the cloud forest of the Tamá range or elsewhere,that is it was never seen to mud puddle, to hill top, fly around flowering trees or along mountain streams inside the cloud forest.
Its is beyond any doubt that Catasticta revancha is involved in a mimetic relationship with  Leptophobia eleone, and  it sems correct to suggest that the latter species is the model, while Catasticta revancha is the mimic. Catasticta revancha has a lemon-yellow ground colour, which is unique in its genus, and its flight pattern and habitat preference are, in our experience, distinc from other congeners. On the wing their resemblance is so perfect that even experienced knowing what to expect cannot distinguish them.  In fact, the first specimen collected was taken for a Leptophobia eleone, and ever since our hunting strategy has been to chase any lemon yellow butterfly as we could not rely on our "on the wing" identificacion. No species in the genera Leptophobia or Catasticta have yet reported as unpalatable, even though they could well gain some secondary chemical protection from their cruciferous host plants which contain mustard oils ( De Vries1987)Young ( 1972 ) suggested that Leptophobia caesia Lucas could be unpalatable. However, we observed on several occasions loose wings of different species of Leptophobia, including Leptophobia caesia (in Colombia),  which were definitely the remains of bird attacks. They were all white or grey deep-forest species. Nevertheless, we may not rule out that Leptophobia eleone, whose lemon yellow could be a wening colour, is at least less acceptable to predators.  In fact, we should also seek explanations other than classic Batesian mimicry. Perhaps in this particular mimicry system the signal receiver is not a predator but  the model itself ( see: Wickler 1965, Nijhout 1991 y Vane-Wright 1996 ). There are a few cases known to us of true Batesian mimicry among  Catasticta, such as the females of Catasticta alma Hopffer, Catasticta strigosa Butler, o Catasticta pharnakia Fruhstorfer which mimic distasteful Actinote, acraeins, or both sexes of Catasticta teutamis, which mimic Pereute pierids which some authors consider to be unpalatable ( see:  De Vries, 1987 ).
The discovery of  Catasticta revancha in San Vicente de la Revancha is also very interesting for zoogeographical reasons. The nearest ally of the species is Catasticta poujadei which is known from southern  Ecuador  and  Perú, while in Colombia Catasticta revancha has no close relatives. It would be temping to consider this new species as an endemic of the Tamá range or even perhaps of the Valley of San Vicente de la Revancha (because the parallel valley of Betania has been quite well Porque el Valle paralelo de Betania tiene buenos ejemplos de similares elevaciones). De cualquier manera de este inusual comportamiento y semejanza mimética a Leptophobia eleone,Catasticta revancha puede haber sido observada en otros lugares al Este de la Cordillera Colombiana.

We would like to thank the Instituto Nacional de Parques de Venezuela( INPARQUES ) for issuing collecting permiits for the Tamá National Park, the owners, of the Fundo Piedra Blanca: Mrs ElisaMoreno, Mr. José Rosario ("Charo") and Mrs.Luisa for their superb hospitality, Mr. Andrew Neild and Mr. Artur Jasinski for editing the manuscript. The 1996 trip to Venezuela of Tomasz W. Pyrcz was supported by a grant of the  Institute of Zoology of the Jagiellonian University ( DS/30/96 ).

Catasticta revancha Rey & Pyrcz
Mapa Municipal del Edo. Táchira .
con 6 nuevos Municipios .

1. Mpio Andrés Bello................8. Mpio. Independencia ........15. Mpio. Monseñor Fdez Feo..............22. Mpio. Uribante

2. Mpio Ayacucho.....................9. Mpio.Jáuregui.....................16. Mpio. Panamericano.........................23. Mpio. A. R. Costa

3. Mpio Bolivar.........................10. Mpio.Junín..........................17. Mpio. Pedro María Ureña.................24. Mpio. Fsco de Miranda

4. Mpio Cárdenas ....................11. Mpio. Libertad....................18. Mpio. Samuel Darío Maldonado.....25. Mpio. J.M.Vargas

5. Mpio. Córdoba.....................12. Mpio. Libertador.................19. Mpio. San Cristóbal..........................26. Mpio. Rafael Urdaneta

6. Mpio. García de Hevia.........13. Mpio. Lobatera...................20. Mpio. Seboruco.................................27. Mpio. Torbes

7. Mpio. Guásimo ....................14. Mpio Michelena..................21. Mpio. Sucre.......................................28. Mpio.Simón Rodriguez
 
 
 

Dismorphiinae

....Coliadinae....

.....Pierinae.....