10. Athis delecta (Schaus, 1911)

(Figs. 7C, 7D, 12C)

Castnia delecta Schaus, 1911; Schaus, 1911. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) 7 (38), p. 192.

Orthia delecta; Houlbert, 1918. Étud. Lép. Comp. 15, pp. 65, 509, 695, 721 pl. CDXXXIX 3781.

Athis delecta; Miller, 1995, in Heppner. Castnioidea: Castniidae: Castniinae, Checklist part 2, Atlas Neo. Lep., p. 133. Athis delecta; Lamas, 1995. Revta. Per. Ent. 37, p. 76.

Athis delecta; Moraes & Duarte, 2014. Zoo. Jour. Linn. Soc. 170 (2), p. 29.

General comments. Described as Castnia delecta Schaus, 1911 from specimens collected in Mexico (Córdoba) and Costa Rica (Esperanza [del Guarco]) (Schaus 1911; Strand 1913; Miller 1995; Lamas 1995; López-Godínez & Porion 2012). Houlbert (1918) included it in Orthia Herrich-Schäffer, [1853], but Miller (1986, 1995) transferred it to Athis Hübner.

Athis delecta is, together with A. ahala and A. jaliscana, one of the smallest species in the genus. López-Godínez & Porion (2012) mentioned that A. jaliscana is close to A. delecta, since, despite being easily distinguishable from each other, they share some morphological characteristics including wing pattern, coloration, and size. Not much is known about this species, and it is one of the least represented Athis in entomological collections worldwide (García-Díaz, in prep.).

Males and females have similar wing patterns, as the species exhibits very little sexual dimorphism. The apex of the female forewing is slightly rounded. Dorsally, there is a dark brown diagonal band that runs from the apex to the anal margin on the forewing; the base-color in males is dark brown on the marginal side of the band and light brown on the basal side, while in the females the coloration is lighter and more homogeneous throughout the wing; near the costa in the discal region there is a circular maculation, which is larger and oval in females; there is a translucent spot at the apex and it may be accompanied by another barely perceptible spot in both sexes; the hindwing base-color is pale orange, there is a dark brown marginal band and another band of dark brown spots in the postdiscal region. Ventrally, the wing pattern in both sexes is similar to what is observed dorsally, but the base-color is orange and lighter, the maculation is more discrete, and the band of postdiscal spots on the hindwing is creamy-whitish.

Ecology and behavior. Ecological and behavioral aspects of the species are currently unknown. However, based on information being collected in Mexico, A. delecta is a territorial species with diurnal habits that flies in the tree canopy over epiphytic bromeliads (García-Díaz, in prep.).

Distribution and biogeography. Athis delecta is, together with A. inca (Walker, 1854), one of the Athis species with the widest distribution, having been found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica (Schaus 1911; Strand 1913; Miller 1995; Lamas 1995; López-Godínez & Porion 2012; González & Hernández-Baz 2012; Niño-Maldonado et al. 2013; Morales-Morales et al. 2015). Only the male syntype of the species (from Esperanza del Guarco, Cartago) was previously known from Costa Rica, but two additional specimens were found in MNCR, collected in the province of San José; and one male in MGCL, collected in Turrialba, Cartago. According to Morrone et al. (2022), these localities belong, respectively, to the Guatuso-Talamanca and Puntarenas-Chiriquí provinces of the Pacific dominion in the Brazilian subregion.