Carminda griseldis (Weymer, 1911)

Aguiar, Tamara M. C., Barbosa, Eduardo P., Zacca, Thamara, Rosa, Augusto H. B., Santos, Jessie P. & Freitas, André V. L., 2025, Immature stages, population ecology and natural history of the genus Carminda Ebert & Dias (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae), Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20250024) 69 (3), pp. 1-18 : 14-15

Carminda griseldis (based on material from Campos do Jordão):

Egg ( Fig. 7A, B , 8A, B ): White and rounded, with a reticle of thin ridges forming a pattern of irregular pentagonal, hexagonal and heptagonal cells visible both at light microscope and SEM ( Fig. 8A, B ). Diameter: 0.76 – 1.15 mm (n = 77), height: 0.82 – 1.15 mm (n = 77). Duration: 7 – 12 days (n = 5).

First instar ( Fig. 7C, D , 8 C-H, 9): head capsule width: 0.73 – 0.8 mm (n = 8); head scoli: 0.1 – 0.18 mm (n = 8). Head black with a pair of short scoli on vertex, each with two narrow setae. Third stemma larger than other stemmata. Body light green, with reddish longitudinal stripes; caudal filaments very short. Legs and prolegs light green. Setae black, all dorsal and subdorsal setae clubbed at tip. Maximum length of 7 mm (n = 8). Duration 5 - 9 days (n = 5). Head and body chaetotaxy are presented in Fig. 9 .

Second instar ( Fig. 7E, F ): Head capsule width: 1.11 – 1.19 mm (n = 10); head scoli: 0.13 – 0.27 mm (n = 8). Head light brown, covered with small white bumps, with two short, pointed scoli on vertex. Body light brown, patterned with dark brown zigzag longitudinal markings and a dorsal longitudinal brown stripe; caudal filaments short.Legs and prolegs light brown. Maximum length of 10 mm. Duration 5 – 9 days (n = 5).

Third instar ( Fig. 7G, H ): Head capsule width: 1.62 – 1.8 mm (n = 10); head scoli: 0.31 – 0.39 mm (n = 6). Very similar to second instar. Maximum length of 18 mm (n = 15). Duration 7 – 12 days (n = 5).

Fourth (last) instar ( Fig. 7I, J ): Head capsule width: 2.35 – 2.43 mm (n = 3); head scoli: 0.46 – 0.62 mm (n = 5). Head brown, with two short, pointed light brown scoli on vertex. Body light brown, with brownish zigzag longitudinal patterns and an irregular longitudinal dark brown stripe; caudal filaments short. Legs and prolegs light brown. Maximum length of 26 mm (n = 12). Duration 7 – 24 days (n = 5).

Pupa ( Fig. 7K, L, M ): Short and smooth; mostly dark brown, white stripes bordering the wing caps; short pointed ocular caps, white at the tip; cremaster dark brown in ventral portion; dorsal abdomen with a paired series of very short subdorsal light white bumps. Dorsal abdomen and thorax covered by abundant short stalked-palmate light bristles, giving a furry aspect. Maximum length of 11 mm (n = 5). Duration 16 – 18 days (n = 5).

Behavior and natural history. Oviposition behavior was not observed in nature, and the host plant in the field is unknown. In the laboratory, larvae refused several species of grasses but easily accepted Bambusa gracilis ( Poaceae ).Larvae are isolated and move slowly.Adults ( Fig. 7N ) are present in several different types of forests, from coastal lowlands to mountains, but are more common above 600 m. a.s.l. Adults of both sexes were usually observed flying in clearings and forest edges from ground level to the canopy. No courtship behavior was observed. Carminda griseldis has a wide geographic distribution and is found in several different habitats, including primary and secondary forests and clearings. The species is multivoltine, being observed in all months ( Fig. 13 ).

Adult population biology. In total, 34 individuals were captured over 13 years of sampling in Serra do Japi, 32 in the canopy (12 males, 19 females and one with sex not recorded) and two females in the understory, indicating a clear preference for the canopy (X 2 =49.7, P<0.001, DF=1).No recaptures were recorded. Adults were low in abundance for most of the thirteen years of sampling, being more abundant in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 ( Fig. 13 ). The sex could be attributed to 33 of the captured individuals, which comprised 12 males and 21 females, a sex ratio not significantly different from 1:1 (0.57:1, X 2 =2.45, P=0.117; DF=1). Forewing length of females varied from 1.9 to 2.4 cm (mean= 2.25 cm, SD=0.136, n=20) and of males from 1.8 to 2.4 cm (mean= 2.04 cm, SD=0.190, n=10), with females being significantly larger than males (Mann-Whitney U test; U = 37, z = 2.74, p = 0.003) .

Figures

Figure 7 Immature stages ofCarminda griseldis. (A, B) Egg,lateral and dorsal;(C, D) First instar, dorsal and lateral; (E, F) Second instar,dorsal and lateral; (G, H) Third instar,dorsal and lateral; (I, J) Fourth (last) instar, dorsal and lateral; (K, L,M) Pupa, lateral, ventral and dorsal; (N) Adult male (photo by Ricardo Costa).

Figure 8 Scanning Electron Microscopy of the egg and first instar of Carminda griseldis. (A) Egg; (B) Close view of egg showing the micropile; (C, D) First instar head capsule, frontal and lateral view; (E) General view of first instar, lateral; (F-H) Close views of lateral first instar, from head to final abdomen.

Figure 9 Larval chaetotaxy of first instar of Carminda griseldis. (A) Head in frontal view; (B) head in lateral view; (C) body diagram in lateral view. For chaetotaxy abbreviations, see Stehr (1987) and Murray (2001).

Figure 13 Annual variation in the abundance of Carminda paeon (solid line) and Carminda griseldis (dashed line) recorded during thirteen years (2011-2024) of bait trap monitoring in Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo Stat