Megacraspedus lagopellus Herrich-Schaeffer , 1860

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 : 138-140

Megacraspedus lagopellus Herrich-Schaeffer, 1860

Megacraspedus lagopellus Herrich-Schäffer, 1860: 13, pl. [14], fig. 81.

Examined material.

Hungary. 1 ♂, Ofen [Budapest], 1868, leg. Anker, genitalia slide Mus. Vind. 16.656; 1 ♀, same data, but 1874, genitalia slide NM 16657 (all NHMW). Kazakhstan. 1 ♂, 6 ♀, Kapchagai, 600 m, 18.v.2004, leg. A. Pototski & U. Jürivete (RCAP, ZMUC). Russia. 4 ♂, 7 ♀, S-Ural, Orenburg oblast, 20 km S Pokrovka village, Schibendy valley, 3-7.vi.1998, leg. J. Junnilainen, K. & T. Nupponen (RCKN, ZMUC); 2 ♂, same data, but 10.vi.2001, leg. K. Nupponen (RCKN, ZMUC); 1 ♀, same data, but 2.vii.2003, leg. K. Nupponen; 2 ♂, same data, but 30.v.2004, leg. K. Nupponen (all ZMUC); 1 ♂, 7 ♀, S-Ural, Orenburg oblast, Orenburgskij zap., Burtinskil step, 12-17.vi.2007, leg. J. Kullberg & M. Zalewski (MZH, ZMUC); 1 ♂, S-Ural, Orenburg oblast, 40 km W Orsk, near Guberlja vill., 26.vi.2003, leg. K. Nupponen (ECKU).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 114). Wingspan 18-20 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with long scale brush, brown in middle of outer and inner surface, whitish on lower and upper surface; segment 3 thin, white. Antennal scape without pecten; flagellum brown, ringed with white. Head whitish brown, thorax and tegula as forewing. Forewing light yellowish, darker in costal part; veins indistinctly white; costa white; fringes whitish grey. Hindwing light grey with concolorous fringes.

Female (Figure 115). Wingspan 17-19 mm. Antennal scape without pecten; flagellum white, indistinctly ringed darker; colour of wings slightly lighter than male; otherwise similar to male.

Variation. The brownish part of the labial palpus can be more or less distinct, and the forewing colour can vary from whitish yellow to light yellow. Specimens tend to become greasy and the whitish parts of the head and body thereby turn brown.

Male genitalia (Figure 239). Uncus slender, short; gnathos hook strong, slightly longer than uncus, weakly curved with pointed apex; tegumen with medially converging sclerotised anterior ridges, anterior margin of tegumen with moderately shallow emargination, medially additional U-shaped excavation; pedunculi large, weakly demarcated, suboval; valva straight, massive, broad, extending almost to apex of uncus, apically rounded, with small spine, distal area covered with setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with weakly developed oblique lateral humps, vincular sclerites elongated, sub-triangular; saccus sub-triangular, evenly tapered, broadly rounded apex, ratio maximum width to length approximately 0.8, posterior margin arched, without medial emargination, medial part without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites slightly shorter than maximum width of saccus; phallus straight, with weakly bulbous coecum, distal three-quarters slender, rod-like, with small dorsoapical tooth.

Female genitalia (Figure 293). Papilla analis laterally compressed, extruding from tip of abdomen, strongly sclerotised, large, approximately 1.4 mm long, posteriorly narrowing, weakly curved, ventral edge convex, dorsal edge concave, apex distinctly pointed; apophysis posterior rod-like, approximately 2.6 mm long, posterior end pointed, anterior end rounded; segment VIII about 1 mm long, strongly sclerotised except for less sclerotised ventromedial zone; subgenital plate almost without modified sclerotisations, anterior edge of segment straight, small elongated ostium bursae delimited by sclerotised lateral ridge; apophysis anterior rod-like, about length of segment VIII; colliculum short, sclerotised; ductus bursae gradually widening to weakly delimited corpus bursae, posterior part with granulate microsculpture, corpus bursae suboval, entire length of ductus and corpus bursae approximately 2.2 mm; signum moderately small, rounded, spiny plate.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus lagopellus is characterised by the long scale brush on segment 2 of the labial palps and by its light yellowish forewings with indistinct white on the veins. It resembles the larger M. argyroneurellus (Figs 121-124), but that species has more distinct white veins. It is furthermore similar to M. coleophorodes , (see below). The male genitalia are similar to M. coleophorodes (Figure 240) but differ in the unique shape of the uncus and the broader valva. The female genitalia are similar to M. coleophorodes (Figure 294) but differ in the less pointed papilla analis. The species can be separated from M. feminensis sp. n. (Figure 295) e.g., by the much smaller and pointed papilla analis.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ACB0458 (n = 2). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is low with maximum divergence of 0.2%. The distance to the nearest neighbour M. feminensis sp. n. is 7.8% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Hungary, Kazakhstan, Russia (S. Ural and Volgograd oblast).

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The adults have been collected from the middle of May to the middle of July at altitudes up to 600 m.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus lagopellus was described from an unstated number of specimens from Sarepta (now Krasnoarmeysk), southern Russia ( Herrich-Schäffer 1860). We have not been able to trace any syntypes, but the identity of this species is fixed by Herrich-Schäffer’s figure (op. cit.: fig. 81). M. lagopellus is unusual among Megacraspedus because more females than males were available for study.