Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 93. (Budapest 2001)

Bálint, Zs. ; Benyamini, D.: Taxonomic notes, faunistics and species descriptions of the austral South American polyommatine lycaenid genus Pseudolucia (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): the chilensis and collina species-groups

Remarks - This taxon is the northern sister of P. dubi; it is relatively widely distributed in central Chile but therein confined to mountainous and colline regions. P. dubi is replaced along the pacific coast by P. benyamini (see BENYAMINI 1995). Etymology- Noun, with the meaning "the one, who lives on the coast"; in contrast to the sister P. collina (collina - the one, who lives in collines). Rediscovered habitats -The holotype and paratype female ("allotype"), plus an other pair of paratypes, were collected in The National Cacti Coastal Park Pan de Azucar. Atacama 3rd region by the Chilean road engineer RUDOLFO WAGENKNECHT over fifty years ago. During numerous visits to the type locality, BENYAMINI could not find any trace of this species. Even in 1997, the last "El Nino" year when the Atacama Desert in Pan de Azucar was blooming the species was not found. Knowing that this collina-\ikQ species should be found on Chorizanthe (Polygonaceae) bushes was another reason for disappointment because no Chorizanthe was found in Pan de Azucar. During September of 1984 and 1987, JUAN E. BARRJGA, from Curico, Chile, collected single specimens in Freirina and Huasco along the southern Atacama Coast. BENYAMINI then visited this locality several times and also sought the advice of botanists. In a meeting with the Chilean botanist OTTO ZÖLLNER, the occurrence of a Chorizanthe species along the Atacama coast was confirmed as well. So, on December 31, 1998, BENYAMINI made a coastal survey from Huasco north some 50 kms to Carrizal Bajo. He crossed the Rio Vallenar and was going north when he first noticed yellowish-green Chorizanthe on a sand dune slope some 5 kms North of Huasco. These stands included three to ten plants each. However, no butterflies were found. Twenty-nine kms North of Huasco and about 250 meters from the coast line, some twenty stocks of Chorizanthes were observed along a roadside and, at 15:45 PM, a male P. oraria appeared, flying very low over the ground and around the foodplant. It landed on the ground with closed wings and was quickly collected. Later, 35 kms North of Huasco, BENYAMINI located a flourishing habitat with hundreds of scattered Chorizanthe bushes on both sides of the access road. Cool western afternoon winds allowed collection of only two males of P. oraria. On January 1, 1999 an east-west coastal dune transect, 3.4 kms North of Rio Vallenar/ Huasco, was explored. Here, the western slope of these sand dunes is about 1 km. from the Pacific Coast. Climbing up the first dune, BENYAMINI soon found hundreds of Chorizanthe bushes and a local colony of P. oraria. On this cool, partly cloudy day, a permanent westerly wind was blowing, becoming stronger towards the afternoon hours.