Philodoria keaensis Kobayashi, Johns & Kawahara

Kobayashi, Shigeki, Johns, Chris A. & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2021, Revision of the Hawaiian endemic leaf-mining moth genus Philodoria Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): its conservation status, host plants and descriptions of thirteen new species, Zootaxa 4944 (1), pp. 1-175 : 99-100

Philodoria keaensis Kobayashi, Johns & Kawahara , sp. n.

Figs. 22A, B , 59K .

Type locality. Mauna Kea (Big Island) .

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the type locality, Kea (pronounced ‘Keh-ah’).

Type material. Holotype ♀, Mauna Kea, Hale Pohaku , 9,970ft (~ 3,038 m), Hawaii Is. [Big Island], 9.viii.2014 (stored), J. Eiben leg., adult on Tetramolopium humile , 27.vi.2012, CJ355 / SK 777♀ in BPBM. The holotype was mounted as a dry pinned specimen by placing two forewings without mountant under a coverslip.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species by having a broad white streak at its costal fold and a transverse streak at 3/4 on the forewing ( Fig. 22A, B ). Philodoria wilkesiella Swezey and P. touchardiella (Swezey) have female genitalia that are similar in shape to P. keaensis sp. n., but the former two are separated from the latter by a rather broad or long antrum and distinct forewing pattern.

Description: Adult ( Fig. 22A, B ). Forewing length 2.5 mm in holotype. Head and frons dark brown with white scales on lateral side; maxillary palpus white; labial palpus white above, brownish beneath. Thorax dark brown. Forewing brown to pale redish brown with white patches: a costal broad one along costal fold from base to costal 1/2; a dorsal broad outwardly oblique ds 2 at 1/2 enclosing fuscous lines, connecting white line extending dorsal base of wing along dorsal margin; a white transverse fascia at 3/4; a large black patch nearby transverse streak with shiny blue scales at center; apical portion orangish brown with a costal white spot (b) at apex of cilia; an apical black patch (as) with shiny blue scales; apical and terminal cilia fuscous, tornal cilia brown. Hindwing and cilia fuscous. Abdomen white below. Legs dark brown, tarsi spotted with white.

Male genitalia Unknown.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 59K ) (n=1). 960 µm long. Ostium bursae large; antrum cup-shaped with a pair of lateral lobes; lamella antevaginalis 160 µm, weakly sclerotized, semicircular, widening toward anterior margin of A7. Ductus bursae short, middle part weakly sclerotized, round and flat; terminus of ductus bursae tubular, biforked. Corpus bursae 570 µm, pyriform; anterior end of corpus bursae weakly sclerotized; paired rows of longitudinal, partly sclerotized wrinkles; very small paired signa with a pair of slender minute spines.

Distribution. Hawaii (Big Island).

Host plants. and Biology. Unknown.

Remarks. Jesse Eiben collected the holotype from beating the plant, Tetramolopium humile (A. Gray) Hillebr. (Asteraceae) at Mauna Kea, 9,970ft (~ 3,038 m), Hawaii Island (Big Island). We returned to this location in October 2014 and searched Tetramolopium humile , Argyroxiphium sandwicense DC. subsp. sandwicense , Dubautia ciliolata (DC.) D. D. Keck , and D. linearis (Gaudich.) D. D. Keck but none of the plants we checked had visible leaf mines. We also set blacklight bucket trap lights for two nights within five feet of these plants, but were unable to collect any Philodoria adults. Some leaves of A. sandwicense subsp. sandwicense had its layers of leaf tissue separated, roughly resembling the pockets that form within mined leaves, but we were unable to find any frass. We therefore do not consider these separations as damage created by Philodoria larvae. Jesse Eiben has been conducting arthropod surveys in this area for nearly a decade. Given the rarity of this Philodoria species despite years of comprehensive arthropod sampling in the area, it is possible that this insect does not belong here, but instead was windblown from elsewhere as is often seen with arthropods on Mauna Kea. Future surveys focused specifically on this insect would benefit from sampling known Philodoria host plants and where they are more abundant, at a lower elevation.

Figures

FIGURE 22. Adults of Philodoria species. A P. keaensis sp. n. holotype female, lateral view, B Forewings of holotype, C P. nigrelloides (Swezey, 1946) holotype female, D Forewings of P. platyphylliella sp. n. holotype male. Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 59. Female genitalia of Philodoria. A P. neraudicola, paralectotype, Oahu, SK708, host: Neraudia melastomifalia, B Same species, Maui, SK838, host: Pipturus albidus, C P. obamaorum, paratype, Hawaii (Big Island), SK710, host: Pipturus albidus, D Same species, Hawaii (Big Island), SK844 host: Pipturus sp., E P. urerana, paralectotype, SK672, F Philodoria sp. 1, SK835, G Same species, PHIL0021, H P. keahii, paratype, SK756, I P. funkae, holotype, SK761, J P. touchardiella, SK764, K P. keaensis, holotype, Hawaii (Big Island), SK777, L P. hauicola, Oahu, SK618.