Dialectica trigonidota ( Vári, 1961 )

Sruoga, Virginijus & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, New species, new country distribution records, and a new generic combination of Afrotropical Acrocercopinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 5285 (1), pp. 75-115 : 98-99

Dialectica trigonidota ( Vári, 1961)

( Figs 17A–E )

Acrocercops trigonidota ; Vári 1961: 151–152; pl. 5, fig. 5; pl. 97, fig. 5.

Dialectica trigonidota ; De Prins & De Prins 2005: 175.

Material examined. 1♀, Congo Dem. Rep., Bas-Congo, 320 m, Nat. Res. Luki-Mayumbe, 05°37’S 013°05’E, 23.v.2007, leg. J. & W. De Prins. Gen. prep. VS521, in coll. RBINS .

Diagnosis. Dialectica trigonidota is superficially similar to D. odontosema , known from South Africa and Kenya. However, it can be distinguished by the presence of a large white subapical spot. In female genitalia, D. trigonidota can be readily separated from other Afrotropical Dialectica species by two elongated spinose signa.

Flight period. Probably two generations per year. Moth in South Africa was captured in mid-January ( Vári 1961), and in DRC in late May.

Host plant(s). Unknown.

Distribution. South Africa ( Vári 1961); Democratic Republic of the Congo (new record).

Remarks. The specimen from DRC slightly differs from the holotype in wing pattern by the second fascia being not so narrowed at costa. Since we found no significant differences in the female genitalia, we consider it conspecific with Dialectica trigonidota .

Figures

FIGURE 17. Dialectica trigonidota, female. A, adult, scale bar 1 mm; B, head, frontal view; C, caudal part of genitalia; D, corpus bursae; E, ostium region, gen. prep. VS521. Scale bar 0.1 mm.