Dianesia galindoensis Barro, Hernández & Torres, 2025

Dianesia galindoensis Barro, Hernández & Torres, 2025

Figs. 2M–P View FIGURE 2 , 4D–F View FIGURE 4 , 5E–F View FIGURE 5 , 6G–H View FIGURE 6 , 7P–R View FIGURE 7 , 8 View FIGURE 8 , 9E View FIGURE 9 –F, 10F View FIGURE 10

Dianesia galindoensis Hérnández et al. 2025: 223 .

Diagnosis. Dianesia galindoensis most resembles the closely related D. abscondita sp. nov. from which it can be separated by its smaller size (FW length ♂ 13,0– 13,9 mm, n = 11, ♀ 12,6–13,5 mm, n = 5 in D. galindoensis vs. FW length ♂ 14,2–14,8 mm, n = 6, ♀ 14,1–14,7 mm, n = 4 in D. abscondita ), lighter UP and UN brown background color; less marked and developed postdiscal white band; more developed submarginal orange band; small dark brown spot on the bifurcation of Cu 1 and Cu 2 usually absent; less marked light area near costa between the black bands of the discal cell on the UNHW; male genitalia with tegumen not dorsally depressed, less prominent ventral uncus tooth-like protuberance, longer and narrower valvae; female genitalia with shorter, broader signa with blunter tips. Final instar yellower, with smaller and lighter lateral black spots and dorsal white lines. From the also similar D. serpentinicola sp. nov. males differ by their darker coloration; reduced FW postdiscal white band; less developed submarginal orange band; less contrasting UN coloration; male genitalia with broader tegumen, slightly more developed uncus tooth-like protuberance, and longer valvae. Females are darker, with less developed submarginal orange band; UN less contrasting; female genitalia with shorter signa with less blunt tips. From the other species of the genus, it can be separated by the combination of small size, dark grey-brown UP background color, reduced submarginal orange band and poorly developed FW postdiscal white band. Barcode rDNC: 166(G), 319(T), 424(C).

Description. Eyes naked, green in life. Antennal socket orange; antennae slender, 36–38 alternate blackish and white antennomers, club blackish with white tip. Head, thorax and abdomen dark grey-brown, the thorax with scattered light orange pubescence and the abdomen with light orange segment junctions. FW length ♂ 13,0– 13,9 mm, ♀ 12,6–13,5 mm. Male UPFW grey-brown, base with reduced pale orange area and with two dark brown concentric, discontinuous bands extending basally and discally, respectively, from the discal cell to 2A; a third incomplete band of the same color edging the discal cell, and a very small spot of the same color on the bifurcation of Cu 1 and Cu 2. A thin dark brown postdiscal line extending sinuously from costa to Cu 1 and then straight to inner margin, externally edged by a white band consisting of four spots, the two between R 2 –R 3 and R 3 –M 1 thinner and well-defined, the two between M 1 –M 2 and M 2 –M 3 shorter, broader and more diffuse.A poorly developed submarginal curved broad orange band, sometimes nearly absent, edged by diffuse blackish areas, interrupted by veins; an elliptical black ocellus on the anal angle, internally edged by the orange band. UPHW with similar pattern, but with basal orange color slightly more developed, broader and more sinuous postdiscal brown line and submarginal orange band, the latter with more defined and broader black edging, no postdiscal white band, and a larger, square ocellus in the anal angle, internally edged by yellow and with an external metallic blue pupil. UNFW similar but paler with no orange color, basal half whiter near inner angle and with the postdiscal white band much more defined and broader, extending towards inner angle; ocellus at anal angle with an external superior small pupil of blue scales, and internally edged by pale yellow scales. UNHW similar but paler with no orange color, basal and discal brown bands reduced, postdiscal brown band discontinuous. Genitalia with broad, square-shaped tegumen; uncus weakly lobed, each lobe with a ventral small tooth-like protuberance; gnathi slender, smoothly curved upwards near tip; vinculum anteriorly concave, slender but broader near aedeagus; valvae medium-broad, simple, as long as tegumen, tip short and narrow, sclerotized but membranous near attachment to vinculum, dorsally attached to aedeagus by a weakly sclerotized peduncle; saccus short, lightly rounded; aedeagus elongate and thin, continued in a long, membranous duct ( Fig. 6G–H View FIGURE 6 ).

Female similar to male but with elongated, narrower wings with rounder outer margins; a much lighter, uniform color on the UP, extending beyond the postdiscal black line in both wings; and better developed postdiscal white band and marginal orange band, especially in the FW. Genitalia with ostium bursae compressed dorsoventrally, narrower towards the sclerotized antrum, lamella antevaginalis heavily sclerotized and spatulate, partially covering ostium bursae; lamella postvaginalis weakly sclerotized; ductus bursae narrow and membranous, punctate surface with several small, irregular folds; corpus bursae narrow, flattened dorsoventrally, surface uniformly punctate, with numerous folds around junction with ductus bursae; two mid-lateral heavily sclerotized short flat cylindrical signa with blunt tips ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 P-R).

Type material. Holotype — ♂ CUBA , Mayabeque, Santa Cruz de Norte, Lomas de Galindo , 23º06’N, 81º65’W, 30/VI/2014, col. A. Barro & A. Serrano, MFP (13.15009) . Paratypes — 3♂, 1♀. Same data as for holotype, MPF (13.15010, 13.150 11, 13.150 12, 13.15013) GoogleMaps .

Additional material. 15♂, 7♀. Same data as for holotype, DNA vouchers AB-006, AB-007, MFP (1♂, 1♀, no collection ID voucher); same locality, 6/X/2018, col. Y. Álvarez, MK (1♀: ZFMK Lep180908); same locality, 10/ VII/2019, col. Y. Álvarez, DNA vouchers YDC006, YA-004, G1, RN18-015, RN18-017, CZACC (1♂: 7-519240), ZFMK (4 not spread specimens), MK (1♂: ZFMK Lep180909); same locality, 23/VI/2022, col. A. Serrano, DNA vouchers Y064, Y065, Y066, Y067, YAC (3♂: YAC-0092, YAC-0093, YAC-0193), CZACC (1♂: 7-519246); same locality, 28/III/2024, col. Y. Álvarez, DNA vouchers DC-15, DC-19, DC-22, ZUEC (1♂, 2♀: 14722, 14724, 14724); same locality, 5-6/VI/2024, col. Y. Álvarez & S. Yong, YAC (1♂, 1♀: YAC-0591, YAC-0599); same locality, 21/ VIII/2024, YAC (6♂, 2♀: YAC-0633, YAC-0634, YAC-0635, YAC-0636, YAC-0637, YAC-0638, YAC-0639, YAC-0640) .

Distribution. Known only from Lomas de Galindo, a serpentine area near the northern coast in the boundaries of the western provinces of Mayabeque and Matanzas ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 ).

Habitat. Dry serpentine scrub-woodland and associated gallery forest patches ( Fig. 9E–F View FIGURE 9 ).

Biology. This insect is very local but usually common in intricate areas of deep scrub-woodland. It flies very swiftly amongst the deep thorny vegetation, often coming to rest on naked twigs and under leaves. Males tend to patrol open trails and clearings and are very territorial; females are more common in host plant patches. This species has been observed visiting flowers of Bonellia stenophylla subsp. canasiana Lepper & J. E. Gut ( Primulaceae ), Bourreria havanensis (Roem. & Schult) Miers , B. microphylla Griseb. ( Boraginaceae ), Neobracea valenzuelana (A. Rich.) Urb. ( Apocynaceae ) and Phyllanthus orbicularis Kunth (Phyllantaceae). Adults are on the wing year-round, although they are more common from May to August, and fly from the early morning until late afternoon; we have seen an activity peak between 16 and 19 h. Adults from the dry season (November–April) can show a reduction of the orange color on the UP ( Fig. 5E–F View FIGURE 5 ).

Immature stages. Final instar ( Fig.10F View FIGURE 10 ): Head capsule orange, covered with numerous whitish setae.Prothoracic shield green yellow, with a lateral obliquus purplish line; covered by whitish setae and a pair of lateral black setae. Body dark yellow green dorsally, lighter yellow green laterally, these colors intergrading in the first five segments and delimited by a lateral diffuse white band from the sixth to the tenth segments, yellowish near anal plate; ninth and tenth segments with pale dorsal purplish areas restricted to the outer half; segment junctions yellower; white band running mid-dorsally along the last five body segments; two dorsolateral white bands, broader and more marked in the first three segments, externally accompanied by small whitish dots on the first three segments and by a white and black longitudinal spots on the ninth segment; a lateral small, compact black spot edged with white on the fourth and fifth segments; each segment with a lateral white spiracle opening and a tuft of long whitish setae. Males with yellow-orange testicles visible dorsally in the seventh segment. Anal plate yellow, with four longitudinal central purplish stripes, covered by numerous external long whitish setae.

Host plant. Buxus gonoclada (Griseb.) Müll. Arg. subsp. gonoclada ( Buxaceae ).

Remarks. The type series of this butterfly consists of a few very worn specimens and was not available for examination, prompting us to illustrate topotypes in our work. The species’ original description ( Hernández et al. 2025) is very poor, lacking important characters (i.e., female genitalia, immatures). Apparently, the measurements of the FW were inaccurately taken by the aforementioned authors, indicating that the species is much larger than what really is: FW length ♂ 14–17 mm (n = 3) in their work vs. 13,0– 13,9 mm (n = 11) in our work. This inaccuracy impeded them to diagnose species based on their size difference, being Dianesia ramsdeni noticeably larger than D. galindoensis : FW length ♂ 15,1–17,0 mm (n = 16) in D. ramsdeni vs. 13,0– 13,9 mm (n = 11) in D. galindoensis . Their reference to the existence of “whitish bands with lines of orange” in the FW, a feature that they considered diagnostic of the species, is caused by the worn condition of the type series, since the only white band in the FW of any species of Dianesia is the one external to the black postdiscal line. Apparently, the authors tried to refer to the lighter base of the UNFW, a trait that is not only present in other species of the genus, but also was addressed highly ambiguously in their work, potentially creating confusion to the readers. Furthermore, they claim that the FW submarginal orange band is absent on the males of Dianesia ramsdeni , which is evidently incorrect as our photographs denote (see Fig. 3D View FIGURE 3 , 5B View FIGURE 5 ). Apparently, these authors compared specimens of the “humid” season form of Dianesia galindoensis with specimens of the “dry” season form of Dianesia ramsdeni which has a reduction on the orange colors on the UP (see Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ), detecting non-existing differences between species which are linked to seasonal polymorphism. A comparison of the males of the “humid” season form of both species demonstrates that the band is present in both, albeit more reduced in Dianesia ramsdeni ( Fig. 5B and F View FIGURE 5 ). Several diagnostic differences in male genitalia were not examined. These multiple flaws prompted a necessary re-description of the species in the present work.

This species is the westernmost known representative of the genus in Cuba , and is likely present in other nearby serpentine outcrops of the Mayabeque and Matanzas provinces. Although only one population is currently known, the insect is locally very abundant and quite widespread in the area.