Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 83. (Budapest 1991)

Herczig, B., Ronkay, L. , Bathiev, A. M. , Gizatulin, I. I. , Korolj, T.S. , Tochiev, T. Y. ; Uzahov, D. I.: Contributions to the knowledge of the Noctuidae (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) fauna of the NE Caucasus II

Amphipoea aslanbeki RONKAY et HERCZIG sp. n. (Figs 21-22) Holotype: male, USSR, Checheno-Ingousetia, NE Caucasus, vie. Lake Kezenoy-am, 1700-1800 m, 11-14.09.1990, leg. HERCZIG et RONKAY, slide No. 3741 RONKAY. Deposited in coll. HNHM Budapest. - P ar a t y p e s : 4 males from the same locality and data, coll. HERCZIG and HNHM Budapest. Slide No. 3732. Description: wingspan 30-31 mm, length of fore wing 14-15 mm. Head and thorax dark tobaccobrown with some lighter reddish-brown hairs; collar with ochreous basis and dark brown medial line. Antennae of males ciliate, abdomen grey with brownish anal tuft; hairs of clasping apparatus yellowish-brown. Forewing narrow, elongate with pointed apex and slightly concave outer margin. Ground colour tobacco-brown, basal and apical fields somewhat lighter. Transverse lines dark brown, fine and less conspicuous excepting wide and diffuse medial line. Orbicular spot small, rounded, filled with yellowish (or brownish). Reniform large, orange-yellow (in one specimen whitish), spots at inner edge usually darker, yellowish-brown. Terminal line dark, cilia tobacco-brown. Hindwings brown, marginal suffusion wide, darker, transverse line and cellular lunule absent. Terminal line fine, brown, cilia ochreous. Underside of wings light ochreous with some brownish, inner part of fore wing suffused with dark brown-grey. Transverse lines present, diffuse, cellular lunule large and orange-yellowish on fore wing, a minute spot on hind wing. Male genitalia (Figs 12-14): uncus relatively long and strong, medially slightly dilated. Tegumen wide, penicular lobes large and densely hairy. Fultura inferior small, vinculum strong, U-shaped, with two sclerotized inner extensions. Valvae elongated, narrow, cucullus long and slender, nearly entirely setose. Costa shallow with large, sclerotized crista. Sacculus large, clavus huge, double, forceps-like, inner processus longer than outer (dorsal) one. Harpe a flattened bar, ampulla reduced, costal processus (digitus) narrow, less strong. Aedeagus cylindrical, carina with a rounded, eversible sclerotized lamina. Vesica more or less reniform, ductus ejaculatorius situated at ventral edge; with a small bundle of spiculiform cornuti. The new species is one of the most interesting discoveries within our research programme in the NE Caucasus. It belongs to the asiatica (BURROWS, 1911) - crinanensis (BURROWS, 1908) group. It is similar externally more so to crinanensis but it has longer and narrower wings and generally darker brown ground colour. The genital characteristics, with the exception of the very typical clavus, display a mixture of the two allied species as follows: the valvae and cuculli are longer and narrower than in the case of crinanensis but shorter than in asiatica. The fultura inferior is significantly smaller in both of crinanensis and aslanbeki than in asiatica; the new species has the strongest uncus. The most characteristic differences of the taxa of this group can be found in the structure of the clavus. It is simple, long and densely hairy in asiatica (Figs 7-8), double in the other two species. In case of crinanensis the inner processus is shorter and thicker, more or less quadrangular with acute apex while the outer processus is straight and about two times as long as the inner one (Figs 9-11). The new species has the strongest clavus, inner part huge, arcuate and dentated, outer processus shorter, curved; the whole apparatus is cheliform (Figs 12-14). The three species have a nearly entirely allopatric distribution as crinanensis occurs from the Atlantic NW Europe to the Baical area, the range of asiatica extends from the Tien Shan Mts to Japan, since aslanbeki is known only from the NE Caucasus (the old datum of "asiatica" from Daghestan (DRAUDT in SEITZ 1934) refers very probably to this species). The life history of the new species is very poorly known but it is the latest Amphipoea species in its locality. By the data of the previous expeditions oculea,fucosa and lucens appear more or less in the same time (middle of July) and their flying periods do not extend till September. The new species is dedicated to Dr. ASLANBEK MAGOMEDOVICH BATHIEV, the leader of the field works of this expedition.