Megacraspedus fallax (Mann, 1867)

Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018, Revision of the genus Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839, a challenging taxonomic tightrope of species delimitation (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), ZooKeys 800, pp. 1-278 : 109-110

Megacraspedus fallax (Mann, 1867)

Chilopselaphus fallax Mann, 1867: 850.

Trichembola neurophanes Meyrick, 1926: 271.

Examined material.

Holotype ♂, Chilopselaphus fallax , "Ofen 1866" " Mann 1867 Type" "Chilopselaphus fallax Mn 1867 Ofen." "BC TLMF Lep 06708" "Gen. Präp. Mus. Vind. 16.647 ♂" (NHMW). Non-type material. Kazakhstan. 2 ♂, Dzhambulskaya obl., 70 km NNE Frunze, 950 m, 19.vii.1990, leg. Kaila & Mikkola (MZH); 1 ♂, Kungey Alatau, Kegen Pass, N-slope, 1580 m, 11.vii.2002, leg. A. Pototski (RCAP); 5 ♂, North Kegen, vii.2002, leg. U. Jürivete (ZMUC). Russia. 1 ♂, S-Ural, Guberli, 23.vii.1892, leg. Christoph; 1 ♂, Guberli, leg. Duske, 1 ♂, S- Ural, 28.vi.1897, leg. Duske; 1 ♂, [leg. Duske] (all MZH); 1 ♂, Volgograd, 25-31.v.1967, leg. V. Zouhar (ZMUC); 1 ♂, S-Ural, Orenburg oblast, 20 km S Pokrovka village, Schibendy valley, 22.vi.1999, leg. K. & T. Nupponen (ZMUC); 7 ♂, same data, but 1.vii.2003, leg. K. Nupponen (RCKN, ZMUC); 1 ♂, S-Ural, Orenburg oblast, 40 km W Orsk, near Guberlja vill., 26.vi.2003, leg. K. Nupponen (RCKN); 1 ♂, same data, but 12-13.vii.2015, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov; 1 ♂, same data, but 25-26.vi.2017 (all ECKU);7 ♂, S-Ural, Orenburg oblast, Orenburgskij zap., Burtinskil step, 12-17.vi.2007, leg. J. Kullberg & M. Zalewski (MZH); 2 ♂, S-Ural, Kidriasovo env., 300 m, 21.vi.2009, leg. J. Šumpich (TLMF, ZMUC); 4 ♂, same data, but, 6 km W Donskoje village, mount Verbljushka 24-28.vi.2009, leg. J. Šumpich (NMPC, TLMF, ZMUC); 1 ♂, same data, but, 3 km 7-8.vii.2015, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov (ECKU); 1 ♂, Baskortostan, Moskovo, 6-7.vii.2013, leg. L. Srnka (RCZT); 1 ♂, S Ural, Cheliabinsk distr., Kizilskoye village, 6.vii.2015, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov; 1 ♂, same data, but 1.vii.2017 (all ECKU). Turkey. 2 ♂, prov. Erzincan, 40 km SW Erzincan, Kemah, 1100 m, 2.viii.1997, leg. K. Larsen, genitalia slide 5316 Karsholt (ZMUC).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 89). Wingspan 17-22 mm. Labial palpus long, porrect, white on upper and lower surface, dark brown on inner and outer surface; segment 3 reduced. Antennal scape with pecten of 1-3 hairs; flagellum light brown, ringed with black. Head light brown; thorax and tegula yellowish brown, the latter with white tip. Forewing yellowish, overlaid with dark brown in costal third; a distinct silvery white sub-costal streak dividing into two half way to apex; two such, but more slender streaks in dorsal half of the wing edged by dark brown scales; veins in apical area silvery white; fringes light grey. Hindwing white, darker towards costa, fringes whitish grey.

Female. Unknown.

Variation. The amount of dark brown scales on the forewings vary, and in some specimens the apical area (between veins) is almost brown. Specimens tend to become greasy and the whitish parts of the head and body thereby become brown.

Male genitalia (Figure 217). Uncus moderately slender, approximately 1.6 times longer than wide, with parallel outer edges, evenly rounded distal part, posterioventral part covered with strong microtrichia; gnathos hook stout, approximately 1.3 times length of uncus, evenly curved to pointed apex; anterior margin of tegumen with broad and moderately shallow excavation, medially with additional small emargination, with longitudinal sclerotised ridge extending to about middle of tegumen; pedunculi small, rounded, with transverse sclerotised ridge; valva moderately slender, extending to about middle of uncus, apex weakly rounded, swollen, setose; saccular area setose, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with shallow medial emargination, indistinct lateral humps, suboval vincular sclerite with strongly sclerotised posterior edge; saccus sub-triangular, basally broad, with weakly convex outer edge, distally tapered to pointed apex, short, ratio maximum width to length approximately 0.9, posterior margin with weakly sinusoid mediolateral projections, separated by shallow emargination, medial part smooth, without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites moderately long, approximately 0.8 times length of maximum width of saccus; phallus straight, with strongly bulbous coecum, distal two-thirds moderately slender, with dorsal and ventral sclerotised lobes, few minute subapical thorns, apex broadly rounded.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus fallax is characterised by the distinct, silvery white sub-costal streak on the forewings. M. gallicus sp. n. (p 101). The male genitalia are very similar to M. albella (Figure 216) and differ only in subtle characters such as the longer gnathos hook, the presence of a sclerotised teguminal ridge, and the distinctly swollen valva apically.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ACB0437 (n = 3). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is low with mean 0.1% and maximum divergence of 0.2%. The distance to the nearest neighbour M. niphorrhoa is 5.6% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Hungary, Kazahkstan, Russia (S Ural, Volgograd oblast), Turkey. According to Bidzilya (2002: 64) in Siberia (Krasnojarsk Krai). Also recorded from China (Xinjiang, Kuldja) ( Rebel 1914: 277), but we have not been able to check if the material in question is correctly identified.

Biology.

Early stages are unknown. The larva is stated to feed in stems of Stipa ( Piskunov 1981: 987). The adults have been collected from late May to early August at altitudes up to 1580 m.

Remarks.

Chilopselaphus fallax was described from one specimen collected by Rudolf Anker at Ofen (now part of Budapest), Hungary ( Mann 1867). Trichembola neurophanes was described from one male collected at Uralsk, W Kazakhstan by Bartel (Meyrick 1926). The two specimens from Turkey differ in being larger (wingspan 24 mm). Their male genitalia are similar to typical M. fallax , apart from having a few additional small thorns laterally on the phallus.