Nothris sulcella Staudinger, 1879

Karsholt, Ole & Šumpich, Jan, 2015, A review of the genus Nothris Hübner, 1825, with description of new species (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 4059 (3), pp. 471-498 : 486-488

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4059.3.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:29A39F94-77F8-471F-994E-4134C2F03723
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6110723
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/5369867B-4F08-374F-FF34-D6DBFD26FA00
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Nothris sulcella Staudinger, 1879
status

Treatment

Nothris sulcella Staudinger, 1879 View in CoL

( Figs 19–22 View FIGURES 19 – 26 , 70–79 View FIGURES 62 – 75 View FIGURES 76 – 89 )

Nothris sulcella Staudinger, 1879: 328 View in CoL .

Nothris magna Nel & Peslier, 2007: 101 View in CoL -103 syn. n.

Other material studied. Greece. Aroania Ori, Chelmos, 1500 m, 1♂, 20.ix.1991, leg. F. Schepler, gen. prep. Karsholt 5276 ( ZMUC); Flórina, Lake Prespa, 1000 m, 10♂, 28.viii.1990, leg. K. Larsen, gen. prep. Šumpich 15028 ( ZMUC); Flórina, 2 km W Kariés, Little Prespa Lake, 970 m, 4♂, 28.viii.2008, leg. P. Skou ( ZMUC); Ioánina, above Monodendri, Vicos Gorge, 1300 m, 4♂, 9.ix.2008, leg. P. Skou ( ZMUC); Kastoria, Vatachorion, 1000 m, 29.viii.1983, 3♂, leg. M. Fibiger & A. Moeberg, gen. prep. Šumpich 15025 ( ZMUC, NMPC); Kastoria, 3 km E Krustalopi, Kastoria, 1000 m, 1 ♂, 19–20.ix,1984, leg. M. Fibiger, genitalia slide Karsholt 4325 ( ZMUC); Menikion, Kapnophiton, 600 m, 10♂, 4–5.ix.1991, leg. F. Schepler ( ZMUC); Peloponnes, Maenalon, Kardaras, 1♂, 1400 m, 22.ix.1991, leg. F. Schepler ( ZMUC). Macedonia. Petrina plan., 1600m, 1♂, 7.ix.1953, leg. J. Thurner, gen. prep. Šumpich 15026 ( ZSM); Petrina plan., Ochrid Lake, 1♂, ix.1937, leg. Wolfschläger, gen. prep. Šumpich 15027 ( ZSM). Turkey. Sivas, Darende, Günpinar, 900 m, 2♂, 18.x.1986, leg. A. Moeberg & J. Hillman, gen. prep. Šumpich 15029 ( ZMUC) (see comment below).

Description. Adult ( Figs 19–22 View FIGURES 19 – 26 ). Wingspan 28-32 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus black, lighter grey on upper and inner surfaces; segment 3 dirty white mottled with some darker scales. Antenna light grey-brown, indistinctly ringed with black; ciliae almost as long as breath of flagellum. Head and tegula light grey; thorax as forewing. Forewing with slightly pointed apex, grey-brown mottled with lighter scales; rather indistinct black spots in fold and at ½ and 2/ 3 in middle of wing; veins in apical part of wing finely dusted with black and ending in black dots at termen; cilia grey with darker cilia line. Hindwing grey.

Variation. The colour of the forewing varies from lighter to darker grey-brown, and the black spots in middle of the forewing and along termen can be more or less distinct (most distinct in light or worn specimens). Sometimes the black spot at ½ in the forewing is obsolete.

Male genitalia ( Figs 70–79 View FIGURES 62 – 75 View FIGURES 76 – 89 ). Valva very narrow, broader and bearing a conchoidal bulge at base, then gradually tapering up to its middle and from there narrow and parallel-sided up to the apex, densely covered with setae. Uncus narrow, subrectangular, only slightly broadened apically. Gnathos long, curved. Sacculus stout but comparatively short, with several (usually more than twenty) sclerotized spines apically. Vinculum well developed, bluntly terminated. Saccus broad, rounded terminally. Phallus narrow, comparatively short, with a short flagellum. Coecum broad and short, two laminae present in bulbus ejaculatorius.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Very similar to N. sabulosella , but the forewing is more pointed in N. sulcella , the black spots are usually more distinct, and veins in apical part of wing finely dusted with black, ending in black spots at termen. Also the head of N. sulcella is lighter than the head of N. sabulosella . In the male genitalia, the sacculus is more broadened basally and more densely covered with spines in its apex. The phallus is about 20 % shorter, the coecum broader, bulbous. The vinculum is more bluntly terminated. N. sulcella is one of the largest species of Gelechiidae in Europe – only comparable to females of Atremaea lonchoptera Staudinger, 1871 , but that species has no ventral brush on segment 2 of the labial palp.

Distribution. Macedonia, Greece, Turkey (?). A record from Bosnia ( Aigner, 1905) and probably also a record from Israel ( Bodenheimer, 1930) refer to N. skyvai sp. n. We examined two specimens from Turkey, prov. Sivas, but the occurrence of N. sulcella there needs to be confirmed as there are indications that they may be mislabelled. Other records from Turkey refer to N. sabulosella .

Bionomics. Early stages and host plant unknown. The species is found at altitudes between 600 m and 1600 m. All studied material was collected in late summer and autumn.

Remarks. Nothris sulcella was described from two specimens: one female (wingspan 24 mm) from Amasya in northern Turkey, and one larger (32 mm) male from the collection of J. Lederer, labelled only “Krüper” (name of the collector), and assumed to originated from Smyrna in western Turkey ( Staudinger, 1879). The male has been labelled as lectotype by K. Sattler and it is published here for the first time. The female (labelled as paralectotype by K. Sattler) belongs to N. radiata .

Staudinger (1879) assumed that the lectotype originated from Turkey, but that was doubted by Rebel (1904) who argued that it probably originated from Greece. We agree with Rebel because we did not find specimens from Turkey agreeing with the lectotype of N. sulcella .

N. magna was described from two males from Mont Parnonas in southern Greece collected 4.ix.2002 by S. Peslier (Nel & Peslier 2007). We examined the holotype which agree with N. sulcella .

The two specimens from Turkey, prov. Sivas originated from a collecting trip to both Greece and Turkey and were kept in cotton layers. When sorted by O. Karsholt the material from different localities was not sufficiently separated to exclude the possibility of mislabelling.