Gorbunov O.G., Ivanov A.V. 2024. To the morphology and distribution of Sura xylocopiformis Walker, 1856 (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) // Russian Entomol. J. Vol.33. No.2: 243–248 [in English].
1 A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospekt 33, Moscow 119071 Russia.
2 Chuvash branch of the Russian Entomological Society, Cheboksary Russia.
Oleg Gorbunov: gorbunov.oleg@mail.ru ORCID 0000-0001-5706-621X
Aleksandr Ivanov: alexvti@list.ru ORCID 0009-0001-3215-2514
doi: 10.15298/rusentj.33.2.10
ABSTRACT. A description of the external morphology and genitalia of the male Sura xylocopiformis Walker, 1856 from the KwaZulu-Natal Province of the Republic of South Africa is given. The taxonomic composition of the genus Sura Walker, 1856 is discussed. It is suggested that the Oriental species of the genus, namely Sura chalybea Butler, 1876, and Sura ignicauda (Hampson, 1892), should be excluded from the genus Sura and transferred to the tribe Sesiini. In addition, it is indicated that S. bicolor Le Cerf, 1917, which is currently a junior synonym of S. xylocopiformis, has a poorly developed non-functional proboscis, which is diagnostic character of the genus Fortikona Bartsch et Sáfián, 2023. For formal restoration from synonyms and transfer to the genus Fortikona, an analysis of the genitalia morphology in needed. It has been established that S. xylocopiformis is currently distributed in three provinces in the east of the Republic of South Africa, and the studied material was collected in two new localities.
KEY WORDS. Sesiidae, Paranthrenini, clearwing moths, Sura xylocopiformis, morphology, distribution, Afrotropical Region.