An updated checklist of the wild silkmoths (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) of Colombia

Abstract

An updated and comprehensive checklist of wild silkmoths (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from Colombia is presented, including their occurrence status in each Colombian department. In Colombia, there are a total of 6 subfamilies, 55 genera, and 602 species of Saturniidae. Current distribution data shows that one genus and 310 species are endemic to Colombia. As a result of the description of many new species for the neotropics, some species names presented in the first checklist of Colombian Saturniidae (Amarillo-Suárez 2000) are obsolete. The following taxa, hitherto treated as subspecies, are raised to species status: Arsenura lemairei Racheli & Racheli, 1998 stat. nov. from A. thomsoni Schaus, 1906; Copiopteryx banghaasi Draudt, 1930 stat. nov. from C. semiramis (Cramer, 1775); and Rhescyntis norax Druce, 1897 stat. nov. from R. hippodamia Druce, 1897. A new combination is proposed in this context: Copiopteryx banghaasi andensis (Lemaire, 1974) comb. nov. In addition, Bathyphlebia aglia gschwandneri Schawerda, 1925 stat. nov. is removed from its synonymy with B. aglia Felder & Felder, 1874 and here treated as a subspecies of the latter. Furthermore, Rothschildia equatorialis bogotana Rothschild, 1907 stat. rev., comb. nov. is reinstated as a subspecies, but now from equatorialis Rothschild, 1907 and not from orizaba (Westwood, 1853). The following taxa are recognized as new synonyms: Rhescyntis hippodamia colombiana (Bouvier, 1927) syn. nov. of Rhescyntis norax Druce, 1897, Therinia transversaria columbiana (Jordan, 1924) syn. nov. of Therinia transversaria (Druce, 1887), and Rothschildia arethusa rhodina Jordan, 1911 syn nov. of Rothschildia arethusa (Walker, 1855). Old records of taxa that recently could not be found in Colombia have been removed due to new evidence. The purpose is to avoid confusion with old names and provide an updated list of Colombian species, including many recently described taxa.