Noctuidae - Condicinae - Condicini

 

 

Condica new species 1

Diagnosis: Condica new species 1 is an Antillean species that has been collected in southern Florida. This species is superficially nearly identical to Condica circuita (Guenée), and both species occur in the same localities is the Great Antilles. Condica circuita has not yet been collected in the United States. Although Condica new species 1 and circuita are superficially almost inseparable, they do not appear to be closely related phylogenetically. Both the male and female genitalia are abundantly distinct suggesting that suspected specimens of Condica new species 1 from the United States should be dissected to confirm its identification.

Condica new species 1 is a small, very dark reddish purple species. Older specimens fade to a lighter, more reddish color. The forewing is very non-descript. The basal line is present only along the costa and consists of a wide, slightly lighter band. The antemedial line is also obscure and takes the form of three or four slightly lighter scallops. The claviform spot is absent or exists only as a slightly darker ovate line. The orbicular spot is present, but obscure and is a small round cream-colored spot; the reniform spot is double with a white spot in its lower end. The whole reniform spot is obscurely marked with a cream-colored line. The postmedial line is an obscure slightly lighter line, vaguely marked with black on its inner side and with very obscure teeth on its outer side indicated only by a small white spot at the apex of each tooth. The subterminal line consists of a series of vagues black patches and the terminal region is slightly darker than the rest of the wing. There is a series of small white spots along the outer margin of the wing. The hindwing is whitish toward the base, but the outer half is heavily suffused with dark gray-brown. The male genitalia are very distinctive. In particular there is a mushroom-shaped protuberance from the lower (cepahald) margin of the juxta. I have not seen this structure in any other species of the genus. The clasper of the valve is s-shaped and there is a projection of the distal end of the sacculus just before the clasper. The vesica is about five times longer than wide and there is a series of denticles near its apex. The most distinctive feature of the female genitalia is the shape of the apophyses anteriores. In most noctuids the apophyses anteriores are straight and arise from the abdominal sclerite somewhat laterally to the end of the sclerite. In new species 1 the apophyses anteriores are curved, darkly sclerotized, and arise from the lateral margins of the sclerite. In addition the ostium is sclerotized and bilobed. The corpus bursae is ovate or stomach shaped with the ductus bursae entering on caudal margin of the corpus bursae and the ductus seminalis the other. There is a single large sclerotized plate in the corpus bursae.

Distribution: This species appears to be restricted to the Greater Antillean region. It has been taken near Homestead in southern Florida and Andros Island in the Bahamas. Condica new species 1 has been most commonly collected on Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rica. The species has not been collected from the Lesser Antilles or elsewhere in Latin America. This is in contrast to the extensive tropical range of Condica circuita. The population from the Dominican Republic appears to be slightly larger than the species is from Cuba, Florida, and Jamaica. Individual variation does not appear to be significant.

Identification Quality: Excellent

Larva: Unknown

Foodplants: Unknown

 

Condica new species 1

Superficially this species is almost identical to Condica circuita. Condica circuita is almost always slightly lighter, slighter larger, and slightly redder than Condica new species 1. In addition there is a character in the forewing that will almost always separate the two species. The reniform spot of Condica new species 1 is vaguely defined outward by a fine white line. In contrast this white line does not exist in circuita, but instead is a series of vague white dots and a larger yellowish, convex spot ventral to the reniform spot. In the male genitalia the clasper of circuita is curved, but not s-shaped and there is not protuberance from the cepahald margin of the juxta. The vesica of circuita lacks the apical denticulations found in Condica new species 1. The female genitalia of circuita are very different from those of new species 1. In particular the apophyses anteriores are normal in circuita. The ostium is completely membranous without the sclerotized bilobed opening found in new species 1. The corpus bursae is elongate, not ovate, and there are two small sclerotized patches, not a single large one.

Similar Species

No Similar Species in the United States