Review of the Catocala delilah species complex (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) Author Hawks, David University of California, Riverside ,, United States of America text ZooKeys 2010 2010-03-18 39 39 13 35 journal article 10.3897/zookeys.39.439 6dfdec5c-2e9d-4e1f-be4c-a120edc779e0 1313–2970 576631 6D59834F-82C0-4DCD-8F65-202AE8F03965 Catocala benjamini mayhewi Hawks , ssp. n. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 8E8508F4-153B-4CFC-B015-CDF6374BFC4F Figs 13, 14 Type material. Holotype ♁ (Fig. 13, PMNH specimen #ENT 721049; FW length 19.5 mm), allotype ♀ (Fig. 14, PMNH specimen #ENT 721050; FW length 21 mm ): Pinyon Flat , 1500 m , Santa Rosa Mountains , Riverside County , California , 22 June 1987 leg. D. C. Hawks. Paratypes (70 ♁ 68 ♀ ): 62 ♁ 59 ♀ from the type locality, collected between 1 June and 2 August over several decades by J. W. Johnson , E. Walter , R . H. Leuschner , and D. C. Hawks. Remaining paratypes : Los Angeles County : San Gabriel Mountains near Valyermo ( 4 ♀ ) ; San Gabriel Mountains , Big Rock Creek (1 ♁) ; Riverside County : San Jacinto Mountains , Chino Canyon near Palm Springs (4 ♁ 1 ♀ ) ; San Bernardino County : Joshua Tree (1 ♁) ; San Diego County : Anza Borrego State Park , Tub Springs ( 1 ♀ ) ; Jacumba (1 ♁) ; Sentenac Canyon ( 3 ♀ ) . Holotype and allotype deposited at PMNH , paratypes deposited at LACM and other USA museums as well as in private collections. Diagnosis . Catocala benjamini mayhewi is similar to C . b . benjamini , but differs as follows: dorsal forewing surface slightly paler grayish brown; yellowish areas on hindwing dorsal surface slightly paler; inner band almost always thin, occasionally absent. Mean forewing length of C . b . mayhewi (19.0 mm, males; 21.5 mm, females) consistently smaller than all other C . benjamini subspecies. C . b . mayhewi is sympatric with C . andromache throughout most of its range (this fact led Brower (1982) to elevate C . benjamini to a full species). Description . Forewing : dorsal surface with black, dark-brown, tan, and beige scales, few scales iridescent bluish or purplish; overall appearance pale grayish brown; antemedial line black, edges indistinct; reniform black, subreniform usually beige, variable in size; apical yellowish area suffused with black; fringes gray, checkered with black; ventral surface pale whitish yellow with relatively narrow black medial band. Hindwing : dorsal surface with pale-brown scales suffusing much of basal area; medial band dull pale orange; fringe yellowish tan with black checkering; bands black; ventral surface pale yellow; fringe pale yellowish beige checkered with black; inner band quite thin and narrow on both surfaces. Etymology . The subspecies is named in honor of W. W. Mayhew, the author’s MS thesis advisor. A portion of the type locality (Pinyon Flat) has been protected from encroaching development thanks to Mayhew’s foresight and persistence. Distribution and biology. Catocala benjamini mayhewi occurs along the desert-facing slopes of the Laguna, Santa Rosa, San Jacinto, San Bernardino, San Gabriel Mountains, and Little San Bernardino Mountains in southern California. It also occurs in northern Baja California , Mexico . Adults have been collected from early June to early August. Th e immature stages of C . b . mayhewi have been described and the larva figured by Johnson (1985) . Th e larvae feed on Quercus cornelius-mulleri Nixon & Steele at the San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego County localities.