Scoparia Haworth, 1811

Li, Weichun, Li, Houhun & Nuss, Matthias, 2010, Taxonomic revision of Scoparia Haworth, 1811 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Scopariinae) from China, Zootaxa 2609, pp. 1-33 : 3-4

Scoparia Haworth, 1811

Scoparia Haworth, 1811: 498 . Type species: Tinea pyralella [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775. Eudorea Curtis, 1827: folio 170. Type species: Tinea pyralella [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775. Scopea Haworth, 1828: 590 . Unnecessary replacement name for Scoparia Haworth, 1811 . Phegea Gistel, 1848 : ix. Unnecessary replacement name for Eudorea Curtis, 1827.

Eudoroea Bruand, 1851: 26. Incorrect subsequent spelling of Eudorea Curtis, 1827.

Tetraprosopus Butler, 1882: 97. Type species: Tetraprosopus meyrickii Butler, 1882 .

Xeroscopa Meyrick, 1884: 349. Type species: Scoparia ejuncida Knaggs, 1867 .

Sineudonia Leraut, 1986: 128 . syn. n. Type species: Sineudonia brunnea Leraut, 1986 .

Diagnosis. Male genitalia with long and thin costa, well-developed sacculus sclerotized conspicuously on dorsal margin, free distal process present, saccus broad and short. Wing pattern easily distinguished from Cholius Guenée by typical scopariine pattern. Male genitalia slightly disparted from other Chinese genera Micraglossa Warren , Eudonia Billberg and Dasyscopa Meyrick by developed sacculus and free distal process, from Hoenia Leraut by broad and short saccus, from Caradjaina Leraut by thin and long costa.

General characters. Adult ( Fig. 1 ): Forewing length 5–12 mm. Dorsal side of body usually covered with grey to brown scales, ventral side usually scaled white, sometimes tinged with pale brown. Head globular; frons flat. Ocellus and chaetosema present. Labial palpus porrect, with long downwards scales on ventral side of first and second segments. Maxillary palpus upright, distally brushlike. Antenna scaled dorsally, ciliated white ventrally. Forewing ground colour usually white, covered with grey, black and some ochreous scales; proximal discoidal stigma and cubital stigma placed on distal of antemedian line (collectively called antemedian stigmata); distal discoidal stigma X- or 8-shaped, usually connected with spot at costa; postmedian line usually bent towards distal discoidal stigma, then curved outwards; subterminal line generally incurved, meeting postmedian line, nearly X-shaped. Hindwing white to pale brown.

Tympanal organ ( Fig. 2 ): Bulla tympani open, bean-shaped, inner margin usually convex anteriorly and concave posteriorly. Praecinctorium well developed. Tympanum and conjunctivum forming an angle. Pons tympani slender, usually reaching beyond posterior margin of first tergite. Lobulus well developed. Fornix tympani broad. Saccus tympani broad, rounded, usually extending to half of second sternite. Venula secunda reduced or absent.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 3 ): Uncus usually narrowly triangular or ovate. Gnathos at base two-armed, attached to articulation of uncus and tegumen, distally often slender. Valva ovate, with various shape, setose, with a conspicuously developed sacculus, broad basally, tapering to free distal process. Juxta usually ovate, individually V-shaped. Saccus usually rounded anteriorly. Phallus varied in length and diameter; opening of ductus ejaculatorius anteriorly; cornutus different in number and shape.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 4 ): Papilla anale broad and short, setose. Apophysis posterior and apophysis anterior long and thin. Tergite eight usually shorter than apophysis anterior. Ductus bursae varied in length, diameter and shape; ductus seminalis arising anterior to colliculum. Corpus bursae rounded or ovate; signum present or absent, if present, composed of granules; appendix bursae present or absent, if present, situated at anterior margin of corpus bursae.

Biology. Larvae are known to feed on mosses and herbaceous seed plants. They have the habit of spinning silken web and staying at the web when not feeding ( Pimpl 1988; Bland 1987; Heckford 2009). Adults of Scoparia are nocturnal and can be attracted by artificial lights.

Distribution. Scoparia is represented on all continents except Antarctica and many oceanic islands but do not occur in tropical lowland forests.

Remarks. Sineudonia Leraut, 1986 syn. n. is here synonymized with Scoparia Haworth, 1811 because its type species Sineudonia brunnea Leraut, 1986 is transferred to this genus (see Scoparia brunnea ( Leraut, 1986) comb. n.).

All the members of the genus of Scoparia bear a long and thin costa, have a well-developed sacculus with conspicuously sclerotized dorsal margin and a free distal process, and have a broad and short saccus in the male genitalia. The new species are assigned to this genus based on the above characters. All these characters are regarded as potential synapomorphies of the genus through our own observation.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Scoparia sinensis Leraut, 1986: 1, adult; 2, tympanal organ, slide no. LWC 08048; 3, male genitalia (a, male genitalia capsule; b, phallus; c, cornuti), genitalia slide no. LWC 06251; 4, female genitalia, genitalia slide no. LWC 08048.