Zoologische Mededelingen, 82 (January 2008)Erik J. van Nieukerken: Two new species in the Ectoedemia (Fomoria) weaveri-group from Asia (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)

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Food plant and distribution data are according to original descriptions and the following sources: Klimesch (1977), Wilkinson (1979), Laštůvka & Laštůvka (2000) and Diškus & Puplesis (2003).

Ectoedemia Busck, 1907

subgenus Fomoria Beirne, 1945

. type species Nepticula weaveri Stainton, 1855 (by original designation)

weaveri-group

E. degeeri spec. nov. – Turkey

E. deschkai (Klimesch, 1978a) (Trifurcula) – Greece

. Hypericum crispum L., H. hircinum L., H. sp.

E. empetrifolii Laštůvka & Laštůvka, 2000 – Greece

. Hypericum empetrifolium Willd.

E. eriki Laštůvka & Laštůvka, 2000 – Greece

. Hypericum olympicum L., H. perfoliatum L.

E. festivitatis spec. nov. – Nepal, China, Vietnam

. Hypericum beanii N. Robson, H. henryi H. Lév. & Vaniot subsp. hancockii N. Robson; H. hookerianum Wight & Arn., H. uralum Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don, ?H. pseudopetiolatum R. Keller subsp. yunnanense (Franchet) N. Robson.

. E. hypericella (Braun, 1925) (Nepticula) – USA

. Hypericum prolificum L.

E. hypericifolia (Kuroko, 1982) (Fomoria) – Japan, Russia, China^[1]

. Hypericum attenuatum Choisy^[1], H. ascyron subsp. gebleri (Ledeb.) N. Robson, H. erectum Thunb.

E. luisae (Klimesch, 1978b) (Fomoria) – Turkey

. Hypericum calycinum L.

E. permira (Puplesis, 1984) (Fomoria) – Russia, China^{[2] [3]}

. Hypericum attenuatum Choisy^[3]

E. pteliaeella (Chambers, 1880) (Nepticula) – USA

. Ptelea trifoliata L. (Rutaceae)

E. ruwenzoriensis (Bradley, 1965) comb. nov. – Uganda^[4]

E. septembrella (Stainton, 1849) (Nepticula) – West Palearctic

. Hypericum, many species

E. weaveri (Stainton, 1855) (Nepticula) – Palearctic

. Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. (Ericaceae)

E. variicapitella (Chrétien, 1908) (Nepticula) – Canary Islands^[5]

. Hypericum canariense L.

Ectoedemia (Fomoria) festivitatis spec. nov.

next section

(figs 1-2, 4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-17, 27)

Type material.— Holotype ♂: Nepal, Valley of Marsyandi: Dharapani, 2000 m, 28.30N–84.21E, 17.xi.1981, E.J. van Nieukerken”; “[leafmines on] Hypericum cf. uralum Buch.-Ham., VU no 81744 KE, e. l. 22.ii.1982”, “Host: Hypericum uralum Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don, det NKB Robson 2007”; “RMNH Lepidoptera, Genitalia slide E.J. van Nieukerken 3812 ♂” “RMNH INS 23812 [with printed barcode]” (RMNH).— Paratypes: 23 ♂, 21 ♀.— China (Yunnan): 2 ♂, 2 ♀ [1 ♂ and 1 ♀ slides only], Anning, 24.55N-102.29E, 1900 m, 20.x.1984, Mixed Pinus yunnanensis, Keteleeria, oak forest, leafmines on H. beanii, e.l. 13.ii.1985, EvN no 35-19-1K, E.J. van Nieukerken & J. van Driel, Genitalia slides A076 ♂, A130 ♂, A131 ♀ (ZIAB, RMNH); 1 ♂, Kunming, Qiongzhu Si (Bamboo temple), 25.08N-102.37E, 2100 m, 18.x.1984, Evergreen cupuliferous forest on northern slope, leafmines on H. beanii, e.l. 31.i.1985, EvN no 22-35-1 K, E.J. van Nieukerken & J. van Driel (ZIAB, RMNH); 2 ♂, 1 ♀, 14 km SW Kunming, Xishan, 24.59N-102.37N, 2300 m, 5 & 22.x.1984, Open Pinus-oak forest and shrub, leafmines on H. beanii, e.l. 1.xii.1984, EvN no 23-4-1 K, E.J. van Nieukerken & J. van Driel, Genitalia slides A077 ♀ (ZIAB, RMNH); 2 ♂, 1 ♀, W. of Yiliang, 24.53N-103.07E, 1900 m, 7.x.1984, Steep hills with degenerated Pinus yunnanensis forest, leafmines on H. beanii, e.l. 3.xi.1984, EvN no 25-2-1 K, E.J. van Nieukerken & J. van Driel (ZIAB, RMNH).— Nepal: 4 ♂, 5 ♀, Bagmati, Kathmandu Valley, Balaju, 23.vii.1983, leafmines on H. spec., e.l. 6-10.viii.1983, Npl-244, T. Kumata, Genitalia slides JT093 ♂, 3813 ♂, 3814 ♀ [RMNH INS 23813, 23814] (EIHU, RMNH); ♀, Valley of Marsyandi: between Thangja and Chame, 28.32N-84.15E, 2400 m, 8.xi.1981, leafmines on H. uralum Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, e.l. 5-23.ii.1982, VU no 81726 KE, E.J. van Nieukerken (RMNH); 2 ♂, 1 ♀, ditto, but 16.xi.1981, e.l. 9-18.ii.1982, VU no 81739 KE, E.J. van Nieukerken (RMNH); 5 ♂, 8 ♀, Valley of Marsyandi: Dharapani, 28.30N-84.21E, 2000 m, 17.xi.1981, leafmines on H. uralum Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, e.l. 12.i-9.iii.1982, VU no 81744 KE, E.J. van Nieukerken, Genitalia slides VU 1341 ♂, EJvN 3815 ♀ [RMNH INS 21341+23815] (RMNH).— Vietnam: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Lao Cai, Hoang Lien Song, Bán Khoang, 9 km NW Sapa, 48Q UK750773, 1400 m, 1.xi.2001, leafmines; secondary vegetation along road, leafmines on H. hookerianum Wight & Arn., e.l. 14-16.i.2002, EvN no 2001301-1K [♂ abdomen lost] E.J. van Nieukerken & J.C. Koster, Genitalia slide 3816 ♀ [RMNH INS 23816] (RMNH); 2 ♂, 2 ♀, Lao Cai, Hoang Lien Song, pass N of Phan Xi Pang (Fansipan), 8 km WNW Sapa, 48Q UK736722, 1900 m, 30.x.2001, Secondary forest and grassland; on trail, leafmines on H. hookerianum Wight & Arn., e.l. 6-15.i.2002, EvN no 2001280K , E.J. van Nieukerken & J.C. Koster, Genitalia slide 3811 ♂ [RMNH INS 23811] (RMNH); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same locality and date, leafmines on H. henryi subsp. hancockii N. Robson, e.l. 6-11.i.2002, EvN no 2001281K (RMNH); 1 ♂, Hoang Lien Song, Tram Ton pass N of Phan Xi Pang (Fansipan), 8 km WNW Sapa, 1933 m, 48Q UK738726, 15.ix.2003, roadside shrub, leafmines on H. hookerianum Wight & Arn., e.l. 23.ix.2003, EvN no 2003056K, C. van den Berg & E.J. van Nieukerken (RMNH).

Material excluded from type series.— Nepal: 1 adult (abdomen missing), Bagmati, Kathmandu Valley, Mulkharka, 18-20.ix.1983, leafmines on H. spec., e.l. 17.x.1983, Npl-607, T. Kumata (EIHU).— Vietnam: 5 larvae (ethanol 96%), Lao Cai, Hoang Lien Song, pass N of Phan Xi Pang (Fansipan), 8 km WNW Sapa, 48Q UK736722, 1900-2000 m, 30.x.2001, Secondary forest and grassland; on trail, leafmines on H. hookerianum Wight & Arn., EvN no 2001280K, E.J. van Nieukerken & J.C. Koster (RMNH) (3 used for destructive DNA extraction, RMNH-INS numbers 11551, 11553, 11568).— Leafmines only: China (Yunnan): dead larvae, vacated mines, Anning, 20.x.1984, Mixed Pinus yunnanensis, Keteleeria, oak forest, leafmines on H. petiolulatum subsp. yunnanense, EvN no 35-18-1, E.J. van Nieukerken & J. van Driel (RMNH); old mines, Shilin (Stone forest), Lunan county, 6-7.x.1984, Cultivated and seminatural vegetation between rocks, leafmines on H. beanii, EvN no. 24-9-1, E.J. van Nieukerken & J. van Driel (RMNH).— Vietnam: mines, rearing failed, Lao Cai, Sapa, Ham Rong tourism area, 48Q UK813701, 1630 m, 13.ix.2003, rocky hill park with planted trees, sec. veg., leafmines on H. hookerianum Wight & Arn, EvN no 2003034, C. van den Berg & E.J. van Nieukerken (RMNH).

Diagnosis.— A typical fasciate nepticulid, relatively large, with collar composed of piliform scales, which can be confused with other fasciate Ectoedemia species, but E. festivitatis lacks all special scaling or hair pencils that occur in many other species. Externally similar Stigmella species can usually be recognised by a collar of lamellar scales. Male genitalia characterised by inner medial process of valva and very long curved ventral carinae; female genitalia by several sclerotizations in vestibulum.

Male.— Forewing length 1.8-2.9 mm (2.4 ± 0.3, 17), wingspan 4.0-6.1 mm. Head: frontal tuft orange to pale ochreous; scape cream with dark brown edge; collar consisting of piliform scales, same colour as frontal tuft; antenna greyish brown, 34-50 segments (44.4 ± 5.9, 14), longer than two thirds length of forewing. Thorax and forewing fuscous to black, with faint purple reflections; all scales darker at tips; postmedial fascia cream white, almost straight, slightly wider at dorsum, sometimes divided to almost obsolete; cilia line distinct; terminal cilia greyish white to grey. Hindwing and cilia greyish brown; no androconial scales; costal bristles present. Underside wings fuscous. Abdomen black, with very small grey anal tufts; abdominal tip tapering.

Female.— Forewing length 1.9-3.1 mm (2.5 ± 0.3, 20), wingspan 4.1-6.6 mm. Antennae with 36-50 segments (43.1 ± 4.7, 14). Abdominal tip very broad, truncate. Otherwise similar to male.

Male genitalia.— Vinculum with shallow anterior emargination; ventral plate posteriorly produced into a large bilobed juxta-like process, tightly fused to ventral carinae (best seen in fig. 8). Tegumen forming distinctly pointed pseuduncus, as long as uncus. Uncus with inverted Y-shaped medial process. Gnathos with relatively long narrow pointed central element. Valva narrow elongate to slightly triangular, medially with pronounced inner process in ventral plane; apex blunt. Transtilla with long transverse bar and relatively long sublateral processes. Aedeagus stout, with ventral pair of long, outward-curved carinae and dorsolateral pair of short, outward-curved carinae; vesica with groups of small blunt cornuti and two large cornuti near phallotrema, one straight, and one long curved, slightly sinuous, easily confused with carinae; a third one, proximal to the largest, a cone covered with small spines; cathrema conspicuous.

Measurements: capsule length 287-369 μm (327.5 ± 26.9, 7), valva length 204-228 μm (214.3 ± 10.7, 6), aedeagus length 253-387 μm (321.2 ± 45.5, 7), ratio aedeagus/capsule 0.8-1.1 (0.98 ± 0.09, 7).

Female genitalia.— Abdominal tip: T8 broad and narrow, without any setae, posterior margin straight, with prominent rounded corners; T9: anal papillae each with ca 14-19 setae. Apophyses subequal in length, anterior apophyses curved. Bursa elongate, vestibulum with a number of strong sclerites (fig. 12), anteriormost a wide transverse bar, anteriorly covered with forward-directed spines (not seen in one specimen, 3814); bursa completely covered with pectinations, particularly strongly developed in folded ductus bursae, signa long and narrow 3-5 cells wide; ductus spermathecae with 2 shallow convolutions, ending in distinct vesicle.

Measurements: total length bursa 630-1160 μm (n = 3), length of signa resp. 290-445 and 260-455 μm long (n = 3).

Biology.— Food plants. Shrubby species of Hypericum, reared from H. beanii N. Robson (Yunnan), H. henryi H. Lév. & Vaniot subsp. hancockii N. Robson (Vietnam); H. hookerianum Wight & Arn. (Vietnam) and H. uralum Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don (Nepal). These species have often been mixed in the literature and are difficult to distinguish, a recent treatment is Li & Robson (2007) in the Flora of China. Vacated mines on H. petiolulatum Hook.f. & Thomson ex Dyer subsp. yunnanense (Franchet) N. Robson in Yunnan, syntopic with mines on H. beanii, may also have been made by E. festivitatis. A distinct mine, probably belonging to this species, is shown on a photograph of H. oblongifolium Choisy, taken in India, Himachal Pradesh (Polunin & Stainton, 1984: plate 19, 210).

Voltinism: Larvae were collected in July and from September to early November and adults emerged under laboratory conditions in August, October and from January to March. E. fesitivitatis is bivoltine or has possibly more generations.

Egg deposited on under side of leaf, always near midrib. Leaf mine: starts as a very long, sinuous and very narrow gallery, often following leaf margin, with black to brown linear frass, abruptly widening into a blotch with scattered brown frass, usually concentrated in centre, adhering to upper epidermis. Later mine swollen and larva spinning cocoon inside a prepared silken tunnel, which leads to an exit slit, which the larva makes prior to spinning its cocoon.

Larva: greenish white with dark brown head capsule; feeding inside mine with venter upwards.

Habitat: secondary or degraded forest or shrub vegetation, in mountainous area (fig. 18).

Distribution.— Sino-Himalayan region: Nepal, China: Yunnan and North Vietnam (Fan Si Pan only). Probably more widespread, occurrence in India suggested by above cited photograph.

Remarks.— There is considerable variation in size. Males and females have approximately a similar number of antennal segments, which is quite unusual for Nepticulidae: usually males have significantly more segments. However, the ratio antennal segments / forewing length is on average slightly larger in males (18.8 ± 2.1, n = 12, in females 16.9 ± 2.1, n = 13). Also the valval shape shows some variation - the inner margin is sometimes triangularly tapering towards the middle process; in others the process is sharply demarcated from the inner margin.

The Hypericum beanii specimens from China were previously misidentified as H. patulum, this name can still be found on our labels, but labels with new identification of food plants are added. Also Vietnamese plants were initially misidentified, but these names have not been used on the labels or have been corrected.

Etymology.— Dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the start of zoological literature on 1 January 1758. Festivitatis: a noun in genitive case, from festivitas, Latin for feast, celebration.

Ectoedemia (Fomoria) degeeri spec. nov.

(figs 19-21, 23-25, 28)

Type material.— Holotype ♂, “Turkey, [prov. Antalya]: Alanya, Mahmutlar [36.29.34N–32.05.57E], 100 m, 14.vi.2005, LF [at light], leg. W. Mey”; “Genitalia slide EvN 3692 ♂”; “DNA extracted from abdomen, Knölke protocol, E.J. van Nieukerken 2006”; “RMNH INS 23692” [with printed barcode, number for extraction](NHMB).— Paratypes: 2 ♂, Turkey, Mersin, 5 km NW Erdemli [36.38N-34.21E], 200 m, 16.vii.1986, M. Fibiger, Genitalia slide EvN 3257 ♂ (ZMUC, RMNH).

Diagnosis.— Rather nondescript nepticulid moth, with narrow tornal spot, and without any androconial scales. Can be externally confused with some Ectoedemia (s. str.) species. Most similar to E. (Fomoria) deschkai (figs 22, 26), with rather similar male genitalia: E. degeeri differs in possessing three pairs of carinae compared to two in deschkai, and E. degeeri has two large cornuti, one of which has a serrated edge; E. deschkai has three large cornuti, none with serrated edge. The valval spine is elongate spinelike in E. degeeri and triangular in deschkai (fig. 26).

Male.— Forewing length 1.8-2.4 mm (3), wingspan 4.1-5.2 mm. Head: frontal tuft orange; scape cream with scattered brown scales; collar yellow; antenna greyish brown, 39-43 segments (2). Thorax and forewing irrorate blackish brown with white, most scales with dark tips; an indistinct narrow tornal spot cream white; cilia line distinct; terminal cilia greyish white to grey; underside almost black. Hindwing and cilia grey; no androconial scales; costal bristles present. Abdomen grey, with very small grey anal tufts, abdominal tip tapering.

Female.— Unknown.

Male genitalia.— Vinculum with distinct anterior emargination; ventral plate posteriorly produced into narrow tongue-shaped juxta-like process or ventral process, tightly fused to ventral carinae. Tegumen forming distinctly pointed pseuduncus, as long as uncus. Uncus with inverted Y-shaped medial process. Gnathos with rather short central element, broadly shouldered laterally. Valva more or less triangular, with short spinelike process originating on dorsal surface, pointing inward. Transtilla with long transverse bar and long sublateral processes. Aedeagus long and narrow, with three pairs of carinae: a ventral pair slightly outward-curved, approaching in middle, a rather long dorsolateral pair, and a dorsal pair approaching in middle, all connected by sclerotized rim; vesica with groups of small blunt cornuti and one long curved cornutus near phallotrema and another rather large serrated cornutus, serrated margin at left side in ventral view.

Measurements: capsule length 292-293 μm (2), valva length 191-195 μm (2), aedeagus length 321-330 μm (2), ratio aedeagus/capsule 1.1.

Etymology.— Degeeri, a noun in genitive case, dedicated to Carl DeGeer, one of the first entomologists, known for his series “Mémoires pour servir a l’histoire des insectes”, who influenced Linnaeus’ insect classification and was first describer of nepticulid leafmines (DeGeer, 1752).

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