Nymphiula monticola, Agassiz, David, 2014

Agassiz, David, 2014, A preliminary study of the genus Nymphicula Snellen from Australia, New Guinea and the south Pacific (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Acentropinae), Zootaxa 3774 (5), pp. 401-429 : 409-410

Nymphiula monticola sp. n.

Description of imago (fig. 13). Wingspan 17–18mm. Head pale ochreous; labial palpus terminal segment pale straw, shorter than second; second segment with dense brown scales beneath; antenna pale fuscous. Thorax pale fuscous.

Forewing base mixed pale fuscous and ochreous; antemedian fascia yellowish, broadly bordered white on each side; median zone thinly scaled dark brown, a brownish line along fold and a curved line between it and costa; first strigula broad and yellowish on costa, otherwise whitish edged fuscous, rather blunt at the dorsal end; second strigula whitish edged dark fuscous, lower half leaden; terminal area yellow; tornal spot large, crescent-shaped, shining leaden; terminal cilia fuscous, white above tornus.

Hindwing base fuscous. Legs ochreous, foreleg of male with coxa and femur thickened with fuscous scaling on first and second tarsi.

Tympanal organs (fig. 39): Venulae secundae very strong, widely divergent. Tympanum long, broadly lobed at anterior end.

Male genitalia (fig. 58): Abdomen with a pair of hair pencils 0.4 x its length; a pair of coremata pads near base of 8th segment. Valva widest at two-thirds of its length from base; costa sclerotised; length of valva 5x width; gnathos half length of uncus. Aedeagus long and slender, a small weak curved cornutus.

Female genitalia (81): Ostial chamber long; ductus bursae one quarter of length of corpus bursae; corpus bursae with a dentate strip along its length.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ PAPUA Mt. Tafa | 8,500ft iii.1934 | L.E. Cheesman BM 1934-321 + 3 paratypes with same data. BMNH Pyralidae slides Nos. 17508 and 17509. 1 ♂ New Guinea |Morobe District| Edie Creek| 7000ft.| 18–22.ix.1964. 10 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ in Coll. Amsterdam Museum labelled INDONESIA, Irian Jaya, A.J. de Boer, A.L.M. Rutten & R. de Vos; also "Pass Valley, 49km N Wamena. 2240m at light, 25.x.1993 "

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species in the genus by its large size, wingspan> 17mm and the even scaling in the outer part of the medial area of the hindwing.

Derivation. from the mountains where the species is found.

Distribution. New Guinea highlands.

Nymphicula nigristriata (Hampson)

Cataclysta nigristriata Hampson, 1917: 374

Transferred to Nymphicula by Speidel, 1984 who incorrectly placed it in the synonymy of N. patnalis (Felder & Rogenhofer) .

Type locality. New Guinea, Mimika River.

Description of imago (fig. 14). Wingspan 11–14mm. Head ochreous, tufted on crown; antenna ochreous, about two-thirds length of forewing; labial palpus short, terminal segment whitish, shorter than second, base clothed with brown scales. Thorax, tegulae and abdomen ochreous.

Forewing with costa fairly straight, suffused brown in basal two-thirds; base brown mixed ochreous; antemedian fascia yellow, white on each side extending from dorsum about two-thirds across wing; median zone scattered with dark brown scales, these tend to form a curved line against antemedian fascia and above towards costa, and a straight line between fold and dorsum; first strigula white, sometimes edged brown; second strigula white in costal half, leaden dorsally; terminal area orange; tornal spot tending to be crescent-shaped, leaden; terminal cilia shining lead-coloured, white above tornus.

Hindwing with base brown; subbasal fascia white; tornal spot silver grey preceded by a yellow streak; antemedian fascia white, edged brown on each side; median zone with clear submarginal edge leaving a white band before five eye-spots, 2 and 4 being larger than the others; eye-spots separated by leaden studs, with a small area of orange above; terminal cilia silver-grey with pronounced cilia line.

Foreleg of male with blackish tibial epiphysis and black distal tibial spines; foreleg of female with just the epiphysis.

Tympanal organs (fig. 40): venulae long, outwardly curved.

Male genitalia (fig. 62): Hair pencils absent. Gnathos less than half length of uncus; valva with length 5x width. Aedeagus slender, cornutus a single spine.

Female genitalia (fig. 84) Ductus bursae long; corpus bursae also long and slender, a spinose sclerotised patch extending along the posterior three-quarters of its length.

Material examined. Lectotype ♂ New Guinea | Mimika R.| A.F.R. Wollaston | 1911-229| viii.1910 BMNH Pyralidae slide No. 11568. 6 paralectotypes: 1♂ 1♀ RON | New Guinea | vii. 1987 | W. Doherty; 1♂ 1♀ Admiralty Is.| ix–x. 1913 | A.S. Meek | 1915-113; 1♀ St. Aignan I. | Louisiade | A.S. Meek | 99-32; 1♂ Kapaur | S.W. N Guinea | Dec. 96 – Jan. 97 | Doherty | 97-165 ( BMNH).

176 further specimens in coll. BMNH. 32 specimens in coll. BMH. 8 specimens in ANIC. 7 specimens in ZMA

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished by the clear white area between the dark striations and the terminal eyespots of the hindwing.

Distribution. Throughout New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, a common species.