Poliopastea anthracina (Klages, 1906)

Klages, E. A. (1906). On the Syntomid moths of southern Venezuela collected in
1898-1900. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 29: pp. 537-538
(as Saurita anthracina, new species).

Female. Body black; frons and vertex with bluish metallic spots and some
whitish scales; spots on tegulae, shoulders, pectus, mesothorax, and spot on
metathorax metallic blue with some whitish scales; legs brown-black; abdomen
with dorsal and lateral lines, and sublateral series of spots metallic green
merging into blue at base; wings brown-black. Fore wing above slightly
suffused with brilliant blue; underneath with short metallic blue streak on
base of costal nervure, and a suffused brilliant blue streak on median nervure
with branches on veins 2, 3, and 4. Hind wing beneath with a suffused
brilliant blue streak on median nervure.

Expanse. 42 mm.

Habitat. Suapure, Venezuela.

Type. Cat. No. 8410, U.S.N.M.

Rothschild, W. (1911). New Syntomidae in the Tring Museum. Novitates
Zoologicae 18: p. 40 (as Poliopasta ockendeni sp. nov.; a synonym of P.
anthracina).

72. Poliopasta ockendeni sp. nov.

♂. Legs black-brown, coxae and bands on tibiae pale metallic blue, tips of
tarsi white; palpi and antennae black; head black with a pale whitish blue
spot on frons and vertex; thorax black with pale whitish blue spots on
tegulae, shoulders, mesothorax, and metathorax; abdomen blackish oil-green
with dorsal and sublateral whitish blue lines. Wings deep metallic blue;
forewing with three whitish spots at base.

♀. Similar.

Length of forewing: ♂ 22 mm.; ♀ 25 mm.

Hab. La Union, Rio Huacamayo, Carabaya, S.E. Peru, 2000 ft., wet season,
November 1904 (G. R. Ockenden), 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Tumatumari, British Guiana,
December 1907 (S. M. Klages), 1 ♀. Type ♂, La Union.

Hampson, G. F. (1914). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, Supplement vol. 1, Catalogue of the Amatidae and Lithosiadae
(Arctiadae) in the collection of the British Museum. London: p. 189, pl. X,
fig. 10 (as Saurita anthracina); p. 207 (as Macrocneme ockendeni).

617 a. Saurita anthracina. (Plate X. fig. 10.)

Saurita anthracina, Klages, Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxix. p. 537 (1906).

♀. Head, thorax, and abdomen black; vertex of head with metallic blue spots
and some whitish scales; tegulae, shoulders, and mesothorax with paired
metallic blue spots and some white scales, the metathorax with single spot;
pectus with blue spots; legs black-brown; abdomen with dorsal and lateral
lines and sublateral series of spots green turning to blue at base. Fore wing
black-brown slightly suffused with metallic blue. Hind wing black-brown.
Underside of fore wing with metallic blue streak on base of subcostal nervure
and diffused streak on median nervure branching on veins 2, 3, 4; hind wing
with diffused metallic blue streak on median nervure.

Hab. Venezuela, Suapure (Klages). Exp. 44 millim. This species is unknown to
me, figured from a drawing from type in U.S. Nat. Mus.

714 b. Macrocneme ockendeni.

Poliopasta ockendeni, Roths. Nov. Zool. xviii. p. 40 (1911), and xx. p. 470,
pl. xiii. f. 28.

♂. Head and thorax black-brown, the frons, vertex of head, tegulae, and
shoulders with white spots; mesothorax with pair of minute metallic blue
streaks, the metathorax with blue spot; fore coxae and the tibiae tinged with
blue, the hind tarsi fringed with white hair at extremity; abdomen black-brown
tinged with blue and with dorsal and lateral blue streaks, the ventral valve
edged with white and with lateral metallic blue spots. Fore wing black-brown
suffused with metallic blue except on basal area; a white point at base and
subbasal white points below costa and cell. Hind wing black-brown slightly
suffused with metallic blue except towards base.

Fore wing with vein 10 from the cell.

Hab. Br. Guiana, Tumatumari; Peru, Carabaya, R. Huacamayo, La Union
(Ockenden), type ♂ in Coll. Rothschild. Exp. 44 millim.

Draudt, M. (1915-1916). Saurita; Poliopastea. In: Seitz, A. (ed.), The
Macrolepidoptera of the World, vol. 6, The American Bombyces and Sphinges: p.
93 (as Saurita anthracina); p. 110, pl. 18 b (as Poliopastea ockendeni).

S. anthracina Klages is one of the largest species with a black body, the
forehead, vertex, collar, shoulders, chest and thorax spotted metallic blue
with single white scales between them. Legs blackish-brown. Abdomen with
dorsal and lateral stripes of metallic green, and with sublateral spots. Wings
blackish-brown with a blue lustre. Expanse of wings: 42 mm. Venezuela.

P. ockendeni Rothsch. (18 b). Distinguishable from the preceding species [P.
viridis] by its deep metallic blue, not green wings, with 3 white basal dots,
bluish-white spots on the forehead and vertex, collar, shoulders, meso- and
metathorax, quite black palpi, and metallic blue forehips. The abdomen is
blackish-green with bluish-white dorsal and sublateral lines. British Guiana,
Peru.

"The preceding species" is P. viridis, which Draudt describes thus (p. 110):
P. viridis Druce (18 b) has grey wings with an intense green lustre, the veins
with a blue lustre. Head and thorax are black; the second palpal joint, hips
and first joint of the tarsi spotted white. The abdomen is dark bluish-grey
with a ventral row of white dots. Ecuador.