Loepa peggyae subsp. peggyae Brechlin 2010

Loepa peggyae peggyae Brechlin, 2010 Figs 15E–F, 23C–D Material examined. LAOS: Attopu Province, tropical forest, 14°44'08"N, 107°29'17"E, 08– 15.12.2022, E. Spitsyna & V. Spitsyn leg. – 2♂. Distribution in Laos. Attopu Province (this study). Reference COI barcode sequences. GenBank acc. no. PV069494, PV069495. Remarks. (1) The first record from Laos. (2) BOLD contains the COI sequence of the holotype (sample ID SARBA751-09). (3) The paratypes of Loepa peggyae peggyae Brechlin, 2010 presented in BOLD (sample IDs SAUPA276-10 and SAUPA277-10) actually belong to Loepa siamensis Brechlin, 2010. (4) The species is very morphologically similar to Loepa katinka Westwood, 1847 and Loepa siamensis Brechlin, 2010, and it could not be distinguished from the latter by even its author. In the examined male genitalia of L. peggyae, the spinulose apical process of the aedeagus is larger than in specimens of L. siamensis from Laos. However, further research is required to establish if these species can reliably differ from each other based on this feature. Thus, DNA barcoding currently remains the only method for their accurate identification. (5) The description of this species was published in a non-open access journal offering only a print edition which is not available for purchase. Therefore, based on the specimens collected from Attopu Province, we present a brief redescription of the taxon, as well as illustrations of external and genital morphology of the male specimens (Figs 15E–F, 23C–D). The redescription includes only those morphological features that are barely visible in the photographs. Diagnosis. L. peggyae can be distinguished from L. siamensis by 34 fixed nucleotide substitutions in the COI gene fragment: 4T, 26C, 59A, 60T, 86A, 122T, 167A, 200G, 203C, 212A, 213C, 215C, 288T, 317A, 323T, 362C, 365A, 386C, 395C, 402T, 425A, 434A, 437T, 461T, 488T, 501T, 506T, 515T, 582C, 611T, 620A, 623T, 626A, 659T. Brief redescription. Male morphology (Fig. 15E–F): Wingspan 70–74 mm, forewing length 42–45 mm (n = 2). Head yellow with black-brown scales around eyes. Eye black. Antenna quadripectinate, brown. Labial palp short (its length less than one of eye diameter), purple-brown. Thorax yellow. Patagium light purple. Tegula yellow, light purple basally. Outer surface of legs pinkpurplish, inner surface of ones yellow. Abdomen yellow, with one row of brown-purple spots dorsally, two rows of brown-purple spots laterally (two from each side), and two rows of grey spots ventrally.