''Macrosoma amaculata'' is moth-like butterfly described by

Malcolm J. Scoble Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpef ...

in 1990. It belongs to the family

Hedylidae Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a Family (biology), family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, formerly representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an Extant taxon, extant sister group of the bu ...

Distribution

The species is found in the central western and northwestern

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Guanacaste Province Guanacaste () is a Provinces of Costa Rica, province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern region of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Alajuela Province to the east, and Puntarenas Pro ...

from 200 to 2,100 meters above sea level on both slopes of the

Cordillera de Guanacaste The Cordillera de Guanacaste, also called Guanacaste Cordillera, are a volcanic mountain range in northern Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua. The mountain range stretches 110 km from northwest to the southeast and contains mostly comp ...

, Tilarán and Talamanca, in the

Osa Peninsula The Osa Peninsula () is a peninsula located in southwestern Costa Rica, in the Puntarenas Province, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Gulf of Dulce, Golfo Dulce to the east. The peninsula was formed geologically by a Geologic fault, faul ...

and the Valley of Talamanca.

Description

The species is sexually dimorphic.

Wings

''M. amaculata'' has wings of greyish brown ground color. The apex of the forewing is dark brown and weakly emarginate with a notch which is present in both sexes (more pronounced in females). The edge of the apical patch is without white markings of the male whereas the female has a white patch of moderately sized close to the apex with two adjacent very small white spots. The hindwing lacks glassy patch at the base for both sexes; a dark brown color strip runs from the apex to lathe, parallel to the middle area.
The length of the forewing of male is 20 mm.
The length of the forewing of female is 22 mm.

Genitalia

Male

Following are the characteristics of the genitalia: * The Gnathos is broad and denticulate. The medial component is very short and is not downcurved. * Valva is subtriangular.

Antenna

The antenna is not bipectinate for both gender.

Diagnosis

This species differs from '' M. bahiata'' in lacking the dark subapical spot on the forewing, and from '' M. uniformis'' by the absence of the small glassy patch at the base of the hindwing. The shapes of the Gnathos and Valva differ between ''M. amaculata'' and other species of this genus.

References

Macrosoma amaculata - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life

Catalogue of Life

A catalogue of the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea), with descriptions of two new species

An identification guide to the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea)

Sources

Macrosoma amaculata - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life
Scoble, M.J. (1990). A catalogue of the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea), with descriptions of two new species. ''Insect Systematics & Evolution, Volume 21, Number 2, 1990, Page: 113-119''. Scoble, M.J. (1990). An identification guide to the Hedylidae (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea). '' Insect Systematics & Evolution, Volume 21, Number 2, 1990, Page: 121-158''.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16448735 Hedylidae Butterflies described in 1990 Butterflies of Central America