Coleophora meridiogallica Baldizzone, Huemer & Nel, 2018

Baldizzone, Giorgio, Huemer, Peter & Nel, Jacques, 2018, Coleophora meridiogallica Baldizzone, Huemer & Nel, sp. n. from France (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), Zootaxa 4407 (4), pp. 543-552 : 544-551

Coleophora meridiogallica Baldizzone, Huemer & Nel , sp. n.

Barcode Index Number: BOLD: AAJ0733

Type material. Holotype ♂: “[ FRANCE] VAR | Sainte Baume | Pic Bertagne | 950 m | ex larva Silene saxifraga | 30.06.1990 | NEL Jacques ”, “ Prep. Gen. J.N. ♂ 0053”, coll. TLMF .

Paratypes. 1 ♀ ibidem, 17.VII.1990, CNCLEP00043861, coll. CNC; 1 ♂ Var , Rougiers, Val de Pourion, 30.VI.1992, J. Nel leg., CNCLEP00043766, coll . CNC; 1 ♂ (GP JN 0088) Hautes-Alpes, Chanteloube, e.l. Silene saxifraga , 5.VII.1990, J. Nel leg., coll. TLMF; 1 ♀ (GP JN 2362) ibidem, 17.VII.1990, J. Nel leg., coll. TLMF; 1 ♀ ibidem, 8.VII.1990, CNCLEP00043860, coll. CNC; 1 ♀ (PG Bldz 9299) Gallia mer. 750 m | Nice / La Turbie | 31.V.-3.VI.1964 | Silene | Ing. W. Glaser leg., coll . Baldizzone ; 1 ♀ Hautes-Alpes , Saint-Crépin, La Bourgea, 1000 m, e.l./ Silene saxifraga , 10.VII.1990, J. Nel leg., coll . Nel ; 1 ♀ (PG Bldz 16336) ibidem, e.l. 19.VII.2016, J. Nel leg., DNA Barcode TLMF Lep 22297, coll. Baldizzone.

Diagnosis ( Figs 1–7, 9 –26). A medium-size species with a 13–15 mm wingspan ( Coleophora species range about 5–25 mm in wingspan, with the exception of C. pachyderma which reaches 30 mm) and forewing brown with white lines. The habitus is the same as that of C. meridionella (Figs. 3–4), from which it differs in some genitalia characters. In the male genitalia of C. meridiogallica the transtilla is curved, dented at the apex, while that of C. meridionella is of oval shape; the upper edge of the cucullus is curved outwardly, while that of C. meridionella is straight; the dorsal protuberance of the sacculus is thinner and slightly shorter and the tooth on the inside is shorter and sharper than that of C. meridionella , which is longer and rounded; the juxta rods of the phalloteca end each with a spatula-shaped expansion, while those of C. meridionella at the apex have a curved, bigger and sharp protuberance; the cornuti are assembled in a curved formation, while those of C. meridionella are assembled in a straight bundle pointed at both ends. In the female genitalia, the most obvious difference is in the spinose section of the ductus bursae, which in C. meridiogallica is longer and more slender, while the sack-like central part with sclerotized punctuation is much smaller than that of C. meridionella .

Description. ( Figs. 1–2): Wingspan 13–15 mm. Head white, with ocherous-ferruginous scales around eye. Labial palpus white slightly suffused ocherous; third segment about one-third length of second. Antenna white ringed with light brown, in the first ¼ only on lower side; scape without projecting scales, white on outside and ocherous-ferruginous on the inside. Thorax white with pale ocher line in middle. Tegula white. Forewings ocherous, clear, white streaks along costa, radial veins, on lower edge of cell, along anal fold and on disc; fringe grey. Hindwing grey; fringe of same color as that of forewing. Abdomen whitish grey.

Remarks: there is individual variation in forewing color, particularly in the width of white streaks, which in some specimens are very wide. Similar variation is also present in C. meridionella .

Abdominal apodemes (Figs. 10, 21): No posterior lateral bars. Transverse bar robust and thicker in the centre, both on the proximal and distal edges, especially in the male. Tergal sclerites covered with 20–22 conical spines about three times longer than wide (3rd tergite).

Male genitalia ( Figs. 9 , 13, 14, 17): Spinose knob of gnathos oval-elongate. Tegumen elongate, constricted in the middle, pedunculi slightly outwardly flared. Transtilla curved, irregularly denticulate at apex. Valvula triangular, well sclerotized, with rounded ventral margin. Cucullus robust, with more sclerotized and convex dorsal margin. Sacculus with thickened ventral margin and obliquely curved lateral margin ending at dorsal angle with horn-like protuberance the base of which has on the inside a small triangular tooth. Phallotheca with two slender, slightly curved juxta rods, almost of the same length, apex spatulate with denticulate upper edge. Cornuti grouped in curved bundle with dilated base and apical cornutus curved and pointed.

Female genitalia ( Figs. 19 , 23 , 24): Papillae anales narrow. Apophysis posterioris slightly more than double length of apophysis anterioris. Sterigma trapezoidal. Ostium bursae wide, oval. Colliculum tubular, elongate, slightly narrowed and less sclerotized in middle, proximal part with two oval-elongate lateral folds. Distal ¾ of ductus bursae spinulose, middle section cephalad of insertion of ductus seminalis sack-like and finely spinulose; proximal part of ductus membranous; corpus bursae sub-ovoid, signum leaf-like.

Etymology. The name is derived from merging the Latin words meridionalis and gallicus to indicate that the species is described from southern France.

Biology. The species lives on Silene saxifraga Linnaeus (Caryophyllaceae) , a perennial plant that grows in small tufts in crevices of limestone rocks ( Fig. 5), sometimes in rocky limestone biotopes or on old walls of ancient castles, exposed to the north; its altitudinal distribution is between 500 m (rarely lower) and 2400 m. The egg and early larval stages are unknown, but small tubular white cases were observed on 1993, January 9 at Castrum in Saint-Jean-de-Rougiers (Var), around 600 m. The tubular case ( Figs. 6–7) is enlarged longitudinally to accommodate the growing caterpillar, and thus has alternating black and whitish grey longitudinal bands. The final case is 16 to 20 mm long with a mouth angle of about 30°. The anal part has three elongated and narrowed lobes and is tapered at the apex. The L5 cases can be seen in June, their presence being often betrayed by the discoloration of Silene leaves emptied from their interior by the caterpillars. The eclosion of the imagos is staggered between the end of June and mid-July.

Geographical distribution. The host plant, Silene saxifraga ( Fig. 5), is restricted to southern Europe, from Spain to Thessaly ( Greece). In France, this plant is recorded from the Alpine range to low Provence (Toulon and Marseille limestone ranges), Auvergne, Cevennes limestones, Corbières and Pyrénées. However, C. meridiogallica sp. n. is presently only known from France and only east of the Rhone in the following departments: Hautes-Alpes (Saint-Crépin, Chanteloube and Pallon), Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Clues of Toulane), Alpes-Maritimes (La Turbie) and Var [(Sainte-Baume: Bertagne peak, Saint-Cassien, Castrum de Rougiers Val de Pourian), Signes and Toulon (Mont Caume—Fig. 8)]. All localities are situated between 600 and 1150 m elevation.

Figures

FIGURE 9. C.meridiogallica, male genitalia, holotype (GP J.N. 0053). FIGURE 10. Idem, abdomen.

FIGURE 23. C. meridiogallica, female genitalia, detail of sterigma and colliculum, paratype (GP Bldz 16336). FIGURE 24.Idem, same detail, paratype (PG Bldz 9299) Gallia mer.750 m, Nice/La Turbie, 31.V.–3.VI.1964, Silene, Ing. W. Glaser el., coll. Bldz.

FIGURE19. C. meridiogallica, female genitalia,paratype (GP Bldz 16336) Hautes-Alpes,Saint-Crépin, La Bourgea, 1000 m, e.l. Silene saxifraga, 19.VII.2016, J. Nel leg., coll.Bldz.