ACTIAS

Quoted from "HOLLE"

Dear friends,

I would like to know if specimens in photos

are Callimorpha dominula persona,trinacriae or bithynica?

I caught them in south of Italy (Calabria)

index.php?page=Attachment&attachmentID=11397

Thanks a lot for your point of you

HJM

Hi HOLLE,

I`m italian and, in my language, "Trinacria" means Sicily, the island which is near Calabria.
I didn`t found any photos of C. d. trinacriae, but if the name refers to Sicily, probably you have trinacriae.

Regards,
Lorenzo

Hello Holle,

happy new year.

Callimorpha dominula forma italica-bithynica it is definitely not - this form has same reduced colour and a lot of black but red ! not yellow on hindwing.

The description of Callimorpha dominula forma trinacriae that was published in Neva of Apollo Frankfurt 1996: NF 17 (3): 293
says it is smaller then persona. The colour is more orange then red. But on the Hindwing there seems to be much more colour - the description says
the central black patch of the hindwings is isolated - that is not the case on your photo ans also you did not catch it in Sicilia where trinacriae is endemic
It is Callimorpha dominula forma italica-persona.

Today there is a discussion to see Callimorpha dominula forma trinacriae not as a subspecies of Callimorpha dominula but a new species endemic to Sicilia.

best regards Ralf

Oh, so it's really an endemic species of Sicily...

Thanks,
Lorenzo

Hello again,

in actual nomenclatoric system forma trinacriae is as defined by Nardelli and Giandolfo 1996 Callimorpha dominula trinacriae ssp. nov.
It can only only be found in a small region of sicily - the Nebrodi Mountains.

But because not only of morphological differences in the adult stages but also constant differences in larval morphology
it is discussed possibly beeing a own species.

regards
Ralf