Episcepsis frances Dyar, 1910

Dyar, H. G. (1910). Descriptions of some new species and genera of Lepidoptera
from Mexico. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 38 (no. 1742): p.
230 (published June 7th, 1910).

Episcepsis frances, new species.

Black-brown, the occiput with two crimson spots; a crimson mark on the pleura
below the tegulae; fore coxae crimson. Fore wing uniform brown-black, the veins
concolorous; hind wing semihyaline in and below cell. Abdomen bright blue above,
with black hair at the base, black below, the three basal segments white-marked.
Expanse, 27 mm.

Santa Rosa, State of Vera Cruz, Mexico, August, 1906 (W. Schaus).

Type.--Cat. No. 12939, U.S.N.M.

Four males, all from Santa Rosa. On the hind wings beneath there is only a
slight semihyaline area below the cell.

Hampson, G. F. (1914). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, Supplement 1: 243, pl. XIII fig. 3.

862 a. Episcepsis frances. (Plate XIII. fig. 3.)
Episcepsis frances, Dyar, Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxxviii. p. 230 (June 7th, 1910).
Episcepsis redunda, Schaus, A. M. N. H. (8) vi. p. 190 (Aug. 1910).

♂. Head and thorax fuscous tinged with grey; the back of head and shoulders with
paired crimson spots; fore coxae crimson in front; abdomen metallic blue with
the hair on dorsum of basal segments greyish fuscous, the ventral surface with
white patches on 1st three segments. Fore wing uniform fuscous tinged with grey.
Hind wing fuscous black, the lower part of cell and interspaces just below and
beyond it with semihyaline white streaks. Underside of fore wing with white
streak below base of subcostal nervure; hind wing with the lower part of cell
and area just below and beyond it and the basal inner area white.

Ab. 1. Hind wing with the white on underside reduced.

Hab. Mexico, Sta. Rosa, 2 ♂ co-type redunda; Costa Rica; Venezuela, 1 ♀, Caura
Valley (Klages), 1 ♂; Fr. Guiana; Br. Guiana (Rodway, Kaye), 3 ♂; Peru. Exp.
32-36 millim.

Draudt, M. (1915). Episcepsis. In: Seitz, A. (ed.), The Macrolepidoptera of the
World, vol. 6, The American Bombyces and Sphinges: p. 130 (German edition: Die
Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 6: 130). Not figured; redunda is figured on pl. 20
c.

E. frances Dyar extremely resembles redunda (20 c) and differs by the entire
absence of the white colour on the under surface of the hindwings, below the
median the scaling is only somewhat thinner. Mexico.

The redunda Draudt refers to is described on the same page (p. 130), and itself
by comparison with dodaba:

E. redunda Schaus (20 c) on an average is somewhat smaller and has rounder wings
than dodaba which it extremely resembles. The colour of the forewings is a
little more sooty, that of the hindwings somewhat more bluish. It differs
besides by the absence of the red lateral spot on the collar, such a spot being
only situate below the collar on the shoulder. The venter is spotted white, in
contrast with inornata. From the following it differs by the more extensive
white colour on the hindwing, extending beneath, in the shape of a broad
longitudinal stripe, from the base almost to the margin. Most widely distributed
from Mexico, Costa Rica, Trinidad, Venezuela, British and French Guiana as far
as Peru.

E. dodaba Dyar (20 c) from Mexico (Santa Rosa, Orizaba: July to September),
Venezuela and a ♂ from Ecuador, differs from the most similar inornata by the
presence of a red spot on each side of the lower end of the collar, so that
there are thus 3 pair of red spots next to each other: on the hindhead, collar,
and shoulder. The venter is all black in the ♀, while in the ♂ the 3 first rings
beneath are spotted white.