1. Lebendfotos

1.1. Falter

2. Biologie

2.1. Nahrung der Raupe

• [Poaceae:] Austrostipa elegantissima
• [Poaceae:] Austrostipa platychaeta

Braby (2026: 2) stellte zusammen: "The third species, Croitana croites, occurs in south-western Western Australia and is geographically variable (Graham 1988), with two distinct phenotypic forms (Braby 2000). Croitana croites ‘pale form’ typically occurs in semi-arid eucalypt or Acacia open-woodland on sand-dunes where the larval food plants A. elegantissima and A. platychaeta grow (Braby 2000; Graham 1988; Williams, Williams, & Atkins 1997). In contrast, C. croites ‘dark form’ is restricted to mesic coastal heathlands where the larval food plant Austrostipa flavescens (Labill.) S.W.L. Jacobs & J. Everett (Poaceae) grows on sand-dunes (Williams, Williams, & Atkins 1997)." Diese "dark form" wurde jetzt als eigene Art - Croitana flavescens - abgetrennt, womit Austrostipa flavescens als Nahrungspflanze von C. croites entfällt.

(Autor: Erwin Rennwald)

3. Weitere Informationen

3.1. Andere Kombinationen

• Cyclopides croites Hewitson, 1874 [Originalkombination]
• Hesperilla croites (Hewitson, 1874)
• Astictopterus croites (Hewitson, 1874)
• Trapezites croites (Hewitson, 1874)
• Mesodina croites (Hewitson, 1874)

3.2. Taxonomie und Faunistik

Hewitson (1874) beschrieb seine neue Art als Cyclopides croites ohne nähere Ortsangabe aus Australien. Nachdem sie in der Folge durch verschiedene Gattungen gewandert war, stelle erst Waterhouse (1932) für sie eine eigene Gattung auf: Croitana. Weitere Arten dieser Gattung wurden erst sehr viel später beschrieben.

Nach Braby (2026) ist die Art auf den Südwesten Australiens beschränkt.

3.3. Typenmaterial

Braby (2026: 15) notierte: "Holotype ♀ ‘Australia. Hewitson Coll. 79-69. Hesperilla croites. 1. │ austl’; ‘Holo-type’; ‘Type H T’; ‘HOLOTYPE ♀, Cyclopides croites Hewitson [1874], (label added by M.F. Braby, 2025)’; ‘NHMUK 014175879’ (NHMUK) (Figure 1g–i)." Doch dann hatte er noch Spannendes zu einer Unterart zu berichten: "Mesodina croites pindar Waterhouse, 1932 Lectotypes ♂ ‘FIG. 755 Upperside IN ‘THE BUTTERFLIES OF AUSTRALIA,’ BY WATERHOUSE & LYELL, was taken from this specimen │ KL09221’, ‘Holotype. ♂ C. croites pindar G.A. Waterhouse. │ P.L.S.N.S.W. 1932, p. 222’ [on red card], ‘K 143779’, ‘G.A. Waterhouse Collection’ (AMS) (Figure 2a–c). [This type specimen, but not the original labels, is a fake and is Croitana flavescens sp. nov. — see Remarks below.]" Und weiter: "♂ ‘W. Australia. Pindar July 1910 │ Watson’, ‘Pindar, W. Australia July’, ‘pindar Wat’, ‘DNA sample ID: NVG–23012B11, c/o Nick V. Grishin’ (ZSM) (Figure 2d–f, j). [This type specimen is the true lectotype — see Remarks below.]".

Und was sagen die Anmerkungen ? Sie überliefern einen Kriminalfall: "A further complication in nomenclature is that the lectotype male of Mesodina croites pindar in AMS was found to be missing and substituted with a different specimen (i.e., a fake lectotype). Edwards et al. (2001, p. 87) stated ‘possibly the male labelled as the lectotype in the AM is not the original male syntype as it does not agree with the figures in Waterhouse & Lyell (1914)‘ Examination of this specimen attached to the type labels in AMS (Figure 2a–c) in comparison to the specimen illustrated in fig. 755, plate 37 by Waterhouse & Lyell (1914) (Figure 2j) indicated it is a male of a different specimen and species, Croitana flavescens sp. nov., most likely collected from Bunbury by F.L. Whitlock." Der echte Lectotypus war erst einmal weg, aber er ging nicht verloren, denn der Dieb hatte ja noch etwas damit vor: "The missing lectotype was traced to ZSM (Figure 2d–f). Colin Wyatt is well known to have stolen a large amount of butterfly material from AMS, including name-bearing types (Braby & Eastwood 2019; Marsh 2025; Tennent et al. 2024; Tennent & Braby 2024), and was clearly responsible for the theft and substitution of the lectotype in 1946. Part of Wyatt’s collection, including stolen material from Australia that was not repatriated in 1947, was lodged in Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Germany before his death in 1975 (Tennent et al. 2024). In 1946, C. croites sensu stricto was known only from two specimens (i.e., Waterhouse’s type series of pindar) so it would have been a highly desirable taxon to Wyatt. I have therefore added the following label to the fake type in AMS to clearly indicate that it is not the true lectotype: "This specimen is not the lectotype male of Mesodina croites pindar Waterhouse, 1932. It is a male Croitana flavescens sp. nov. that most likely was collected from Bunbury by F.L. Whitlock. Det. M.F. Braby, 23 July 2025." Examination of the lectotype male of Mesodina croites pindar (Figure 2d,e) in comparison with its illustration in 1914 (Figure 2j) indicates that it has been damaged, repaired and reset, with both fore- and hindwings glued to the thorax. The specimen shows signs of damage from an insect pest (most likely Anthrenus), and the right antenna has been broken off. It is not clear when the specimen was damaged and repaired, but presumably this happened when it resided in Wyatt’s collection, sometime between the time of its theft (in 1946) and its lodgement in ZSM (1958–1975 when Dr Walter Forster was director [A. Hausmann, pers. comm. 2025])."

3.4. Datum der Erstbeschreibung

Die Seiten der Bände und auch die Tafeln sind durchgehend nicht nummeriert, allerdings steht sowohl auf den Tafeln als auch in der Fußnote zum begleitenden Text jeweils ein Datum, hier auf der Tafel "W.C. Hewitson del et hth Jany 8th 1874" und im Text "Published April 1st, 1874". Letzteres ist damit als Datum der Erstpublikation anzusehen.

(Autor: Erwin Rennwald)

3.5. Literatur

• Braby, M.F. (2026): Taxonomic revision and conservation concerns of the trapezitine genus Croitana Waterhouse, 1932 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) from Australia. — Austral Entomology, 65 (2): 1–23. DOI: 10.1111/aen.70055. [zum PDF-Download auf researchgate.net]
• Erstbeschreibung: Hewitson, W.C. (1872-1876): Illustrations of new species of exotic butterflies, selected chiefly from the collections of W. Wilson Saunders and William C. Hewitson. Volume V. — [ohne Seitenzählung] London (John Van Voorst). [Tafel, fig. 14, Digitalisat auf Munich Digitalization Center] bzw. [Tafel, fig. 14, Digitalisat auf biodiversitylibrary.org] und [Text, Digitalisat auf Munich Digitalization Center] bzw. [Text, Digitalisat auf biodiversitylibrary.org]
• Waterhouse, G.A. (1932): New genera of Australian Hesperiidae and a new subspecies. — Australian Zoologist, 7: 198–201. [Sekundärzitat]