Jamides wananga, a new species from Papua New Guinea and Australia (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Jamides wananga sp. n. is described and illustrated from Madang Province of Papua New Guinea and Dauan Island in the Torres Strait (Queensland, Australia). The new species is similar in appearance to several other Jamides Hubner species in the bochus-group. DNA sequence data and morphology were used to distinguish the nominotypical subspecies found on the New Guinea mainland from J. w. roxina subsp. n. on Dauan Island. Notes on the habitat and behaviour are also provided. The genus Jamides Hubner occurs from India, Sri Lanka and Taiwan, through Southeast Asia to New Guinea, Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga (Braby 2000, Rawlins et al. 2014) and comprises ca. 70 described species of which ca. 12 belong to the bochus-group and the rest in the celeno-group (Hirowatari 1992). Larvae of the bochus-group feed primarily on Fabaceae, while larvae of J. alecto (Felder) and a few other species consume Zingiberaceae (Robinson et al. 2010). Larvae are facultatively attended by ants in several subfamilies, and J. bochus (Stoll) has been recorded associating with the dolichoderine Technomyrmex albipes (Matsuoka 1976, Johnston & Johnston 1980, van der Poorten & van der Poorten 2016). Slight wing pattern differences among species can make identification challenging, and male genitalia in the bochus-group often do not differ enough to be useful

Automated summary

The paper describes a new species, Jamides wananga sp. n., from Papua New Guinea and Torres Strait using DNA sequence data and morphology to distinguish between subspecies. It also provides notes on habitat and behavior of the species.