New records of Ceratocampinae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) species from the Cerrado of Maranhão, Brazil

Abstract Ceratocampinae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is the second most diverse subfamily of Saturniidae with 300 species described in 30 genera from southern Canada to northern Argentina. Species of this subfamily are widely distributed in Southeast Brazil, with many endemics to the Cerrado, and important as indicators of ecosystem quality. Specimens of Ceratocampinae were collected in the Parque Estadual do Mirador, Maranhão state, Brazil. Adeloneivaia acuta (Schaus, 1896), Adeloneivaia schubarti Barros & O. Mielke, 1970, Eacles penelope (Cramer, 1775) and Megaceresa pulchra (Bouvier, 1923) are recorded for the first time in Maranhão state and Northeast Brazil and Eacles fairchildi May & Oiticica, 1941, only for Maranhão. The record of five Ceratocampinae (Saturniidae) species increases the knowledge on the diversity and the importance of preserving those of this subfamily in the Cerrado biome of Maranhão state and the Northeast region of Brazil.


Introduction
The Cerrado biome, second in area in Brazil with a wide variety of natural resources and unique neotropical plant formations and organisms, is a priority hotspot for conservation (Evangelista et al. 2021, Freitas et al. 2021).
Ceratocampinae are nocturnal moths with long, sphinx-shaped wings in males, adults with fusiform bodies, variable sizes, antennae quadripectinate in the basal half and filamentous in the apical part in males, and generally filamentous in females (Amarillo 2000, Prestes et al. 2009).This subfamily with 300 species described in 30 genera worldwide from southern Canada to northern Argentina and about This subfamily has ecological importance and may be bioindicators of environmental and climate change (Braga & Diniz 2018).The polyphagy of the Ceratocampinae larva provides the adaptation of species of this subfamily to several species of host plants, both natural and cultivated, being considered pests of forest crops, including Eacles imperialis magnifica Walker, 1856, the most known defoliator of this subfamily and pets of coffee plants (Prestes et al. 2009, Kowalczuck et al. 2012).
The objective is to report new records of Ceratocampinae species for the Cerrado biome in Maranhão state of the Northeast region of Brazil.

Material and Methods
Ceratocampinae species were collected in the Parque Estadual do Mirador between the sources of the Itapecuru and Alpercatas rivers (06°10'S, 044°43'W and 06°42'S,045°54'W) in the municipalities of Fernando Falcão, Formosa da Serra Negra and Mirador, Maranhão, Brazil.The vegetation of this park is of the Cerrado type with a subhumid climate, annual rainfall of 1,200 to 1,400 mm and average maximum and minimum temperatures of 33°C and 19°C, respectively (Silva et al. 2020).
Ceratocampinae individuals were collected between 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M. from October 2006 to March 2012 using a light trap with a white sheet (3 × 2 m) and a 250-watt mercury vapor lamp (UV) during waning or new moon nights.The insects were sacrificed with the injection of 1 ml of ammonia in their thorax.In laboratories, the individuals were mounted on specific boards with the fixation of entomological pins, remaining for 20 days, for dehydration at room temperature, after this period, labelled with information on the location and date of collection.These individuals were identified based on their external morphology, genitalia dissection and in the literature (Lemaire 1988) and deposited and preserved dry in the Zoological Collection of Maranhão, Brazil (CZMA), at the State University of Maranhão, on the Caxias campus.The new records of A. acuta, A. schubarti, E. fairchildi, E. penelope, M. pulchra, for the Cerrado biome of Maranhão and Northeast Brazil, indicate the need of additional studies on the diversity of Ceratocampinae in this state, biome and region.Fifty-two species of Ceratocampinae were reported for the Brazilian Cerrado with 15 collected in this biome in the Bahia and Maranhão states in Northeast Brazil (Camargo & Becker 1999), with the description of Citheronula maranhensis Brechlin & Meister, 2014, Citheronia phomaranhensis Brechlin, 2019, Ptiloscola maranhensis Brechlin, 2017 and Schausiella maranhensis Brechlin & Meister, 2013 for the state of Maranhão, nineteen species of Ceratocampinae are known in the Cerrado of the Northeast Region, demonstrating the limited knowledge about the moth fauna in this state and region (Brechlin & Meister 2013, 2014, Brechlin 2017, Brechlin et al. 2019).Adeloneivaia schubarti, E. fairchildi, M. pulchra have been recorded in the Cerrado of the Midwest and Southeast Brazil (Camargo & Becker 1999) and A. acuta and E. penelope in the Cerrado, Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes (Lemaire 1988, Camargo & Becker 1999, Miranda et al. 2015).The diversity of vegetation in the Cerrado and its proximity to other biomes, such as the Amazon Forest and the Caatinga, facilitate the adaptation of species to that biome, because those of different phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado present biogeographic affinity with other biomes, facilitated by their polyphagy (Camargo 2001, Braga & Diniz 2015).Deforestation reduces diversity and increases the need of conservation programs (Correa-Carmona et al. 2021) in the Cerrado and in other biomes in the Northeast region of Brazil, such as the Caatinga (Câmara et al. 2017).The diversity of Saturniidae, including species of the Ceratocampinae, is poorly known in the Cerrado (Camargo 2004).