Idalus paulae

Idalus paulae
Female, dorsal view
Female, ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Arctiidae
Genus:	Idalus
Species:	I. paulae
Binomial name
Idalus paulae Espinoza, 2013

Idalus paulae is a moth in the Arctiidae family. It is found in the Cordillera Volcanica Central, the Cordillera de Talamanca and the Cordillera Talamanca of Costa Rica.^[1] The habitat consists of rain forests and the margins of cloud forests, on both the Pacific and Atlantic slopes at altitudes between 1,400 and 2,230 meters.

Male, dorsal view

Male, ventral view

The length of the forewings is 20.4 mm. The forewings are semihyaline with a white ground color and a creamy-white triangular basal patch edged with brown and with four fine dark brown longitudinal lines between the costal margin and the anal vein. There is a small brown spot in the postbasal area running to the posterior margin. There is a large yellow-orange patch on the medial area. The hindwings are semihyaline white, expanded in humeral area. Adults are on wing throughout the year.

Etymology

The species is named for Ana Paula Zamora Espinoza, the author’s niece.

References

1. Espinoza, B.A. ; D.H. Janzen ; W. Hallwachs & J.B. Sullivan, 2013: Description of a new species and subspecies of Idalus Walker from Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini). Zookeys 264: 71-84. Abstract and full article: doi: 10.3897/zookeys.264.4403