| The genus Bertholdia (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae: Arctiinae: Phaegopterini) is revised. 21 new species are described: B. flammea, B. griseopalpis, B. canissima, B. antistupris, B. partita, B. vidualis, B. simplex, B. prava, B. yashoquintela, B. gloriosa, B. eximia, B. spatuloides, B. mirifica, B. impuncta, B. pararia, B. watsoni, B. inundulata, B. bilineola, B. serrata, B. coronifera, and B. rutrigata. Three available names are newly synonymized: B. semiumbrata Seitz (=B. philotera), B. rubromaculata Rothschild (=B. braziliensis), and B. crocea mossi Rothschild (=B. fumida). Two infrasubspecific names are synonymized with B. crocea Schaus: B. myosticta ab. aroana Strand and B. myosticta form livida Seitz. B. soror is recognized as a distinct species. Bertholdia venata (Dognin) is transferred to the genus Melese.;A classification based on phylogenetic analysis of 60 character systems divides the 38 species into five monophyletic species-groups, some of which are subdivided into species-subgroups and species-complexes. A phylogenetic hypothesis relating all species is offered. The phylogenetic relationships of related genera are discussed.;Neotropical regions are delimited by analysis of Bertholdia species distributions. Faunas and endemism of these regions are compared. An historical hypothesis explaining current distributions is offered. Late Pleistocene climatic changes interacting with montane topographies are viewed as having periodically fragmented the distribution of ancestral species and resulted in allopatric speciation. Major geographical barriers to dispersal are characterized and their influence on present distributions discussed.;All species are described and variation discussed. Three keys to species are given emphasizing external features, male genitalia, and female genitalia. Food plants, flight period, behavior, and distribution are reviewed. Immature stages of four species are described: B. trigona, B. yashoquintela, B. flavidorsata, and B. albipuncta. |
