Cameraria torridella, De Prins, 2012

Prins, Jurate De & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2012, Systematics, revisionary taxonomy, and biodiversity of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 3594 (1), pp. 1-283 : 54

The torridella group

The torridella group, comprising one species, shares the characters in adult external features and male genitalia with Cameraria niphonica Kumata, 1963 and C. aceriella ( Clemens, 1859) . The first two basal white markings of the forewing are apical-edged like in great majority of Cameraria , (although the mid-fascia can have a few basaledging scales). However, the apical white markings are basally edged like in Phyllonorycter . Forewing venation slightly differs in the torridella group from the great majority of Cameraria species in the distance between veins R 4 and R 3. In many Cameraria species , it comprises ca. 9.5% of the cell length, whereas in the torridella group it comprises ca. 15–16% of the cell length. In hindwing venation Rs makes a light turn towards the costal margin and reaches it slightly more basally than Rs in many Cameraria . Larvae of the torridella group feed on Dombeya torrida Bamps [ Malvaceae ]. The mine of the torridella group is underside tentiform like those in Phyllonorycter (D. Agassiz pers. comm.). It differs from mines of Cameraria which usually are shaped as upperside blotch mines ( Braun 1908, Opler & Davis 1981, Kumata 1993).

The tegumen of the male genitalia with 1–3 stout setae on apex, tuba analis shortly protruded, valvae symmetrical, gradually enlarging towards cucullus, densely setose with slender hair-like setae. Transtilla complete, H-shaped, with straight horizontal bar and long lateral projections on cephalic margin. Vinculum U-shaped, thickly sclerotized. Saccus moderately long, ca. as long as sternum VIII. Aedoeagus straight, slightly shorter than valva, cylindrical, of median girth with long slender rod-like cornuti on apical part and vesica.

In female genitalia papillae anales strongly compressed caudally, attached to each other laterally, a needle-like projection stretches from basal part of papillae anales to posterior ca. 1/3 of segment VIII. Apophyses slender without enlarged bases. Ostium bursae opens in middle of segment VII. Ductus bursae slender and long. Corpus bursae small globular, with two signa areas, one with an elongate rod like signum, other with an assemblage of rough sclerotizations.

The torridella group also differs in ribosomal protein S28 gene (GenBank accession number AF477550 ( Lopez-Vaamonde et al. 2003: 1818 as P. loxozana [sic], which is a misidentification of C. torridella ).