Argyresthia (Argyresthia) biloba, Liu, Tengteng, Wang, Shuxia & Li, Houhun, 2017

Liu, Tengteng, Wang, Shuxia & Li, Houhun, 2017, Review of the genus Argyresthia Hübner, [1825] (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea: Argyresthiidae) from China, with descriptions of forty-three new species, Zootaxa 4292 (1), pp. 1-135 : 29-30

15. Argyresthia (Argyresthia) biloba , sp. nov. ( Figs. 24 , 260 )

Description. Adult ( Fig. 24 ) wingspan 14.0 mm. Head white. Labial palpus yellowish white. Antenna with scape white, pecten blackish fuscous; flagellum white, ringed with blackish fuscous. Foreleg blackish fuscous on inner surface, yellowish white mixed with blackish fuscous on outer surface; midleg pale fuscous, mixed with black; hindleg white except tibia gray distally, tarsus gray at apex of each tarsomere laterally. Thorax white, mixed with black; tegula black. Forewing ratio 5.0; pale grayish fuscous, suffused with black scales in distal 1/3; costa with about ten black dots, alternating with yellowish white, black dot at middle largest, white dot before apex larger; black dots along termen and distal 2/5 of dorsum; broad black streak beneath basal 2/5 of fold; dorsal band yellowish white, extending from base to end of fold; dorsal fascia black, from before middle of wing obliquely outward to fold, then diffused to before 7/10 of costa, weakening anteriorly; ill-defined black spot at middle of cell, more or less connected with black markings beneath fold and on dorsum, with black dot at its lower angle; cilia black on costa and around apex, white at large apical white dot, dark gray on termen. Hindwing and cilia uniformly gray. Abdomen silvery gray dorsally; ventral surface yellowish white, with a longitudinal blackish-gray tinge medially.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 260 ): Ovipositor 3.3 times as long as eighth segment. Anterior apophysis 3/5 length of posterior apophysis, bifurcate at middle, dorsal branch fused with ostium bursae, forming ventral margin of ostium bursae. Lamella postvaginalis narrow hourglass-shaped, concave anteriorly. Antrum elongate funnel-shaped, 1.2 times length of eighth segment. Ductus bursae sparsely spinulated from before opening of ductus seminalis to near corpus bursae; ductus seminalis originating from anterior 4/9 of ductus bursae. Corpus bursae oval, with dense denticles, lateral margin concave at anterior 2/5, anterior margin medially concave to anterior 1/5, forming two rounded lobes; signum with basal plate band-shaped, uniform in width, horns extending outward almost horizontally, anterior margin slightly concave at middle.

Male unknown.

Type material. CHINA: Holotype, ♀, Yadong County (27.49°N, 88.91°E), Xizang Autonomous Region, 2950 m, 29.viii.2006, leg. Xinpu Wang and Huaijun Xue, slide no. LTT12342 . Paratype: 1♀, same data as holotype, except 28.viii.2003, slide no. LTT12341 .

Distribution. China (Xizang).

Diagnosis. The bilobed corpus bursae in the female genitalia of the new species distinguishes it from most species of the genus. Argyresthia (A.) biloba , sp. nov., is superficially similar to A. (A.) conjugella , but the former can be distinguished by the distinct female genitalia. In A. (A.) biloba , sp. nov., the ovipositor is 3.3 times the length of the eighth segment, the lamella postvaginalis is narrowly hourglass-shaped, and the antrum is 1.2 times the length of the eighth segment. In A. (A.) conjugella , the ovipositor is 2.8 times the length of the eighth segment, the lamella postvaginalis is trapezoidal, and the antrum is half the length of the eighth segment. Argyresthia (A.) biloba , sp. nov., is superficially similar to A. (A.) assimilis which was described from a single male specimen, but it can be distinguished by the absence of a square spot on the dorsum before the middle of the wing, which is present in A. (A.) assimilis .

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin bilobus, meaning bilobed, referring to the anteriorly bilobed corpus bursae.

Figures

FIGURES 20 – 27. Adults of Argyresthia spp. 20, A. (Blastotere) punctireticulata, sp. nov., ♀, paratype; 21, A. (B.) dolichocoremata, sp. nov., ♂, holotype; 22, A. (B.) longipenella, sp. nov., ♂, holotype; 23, A. (Argyresthia) conjugella Zeller, ♀; 24, A. (A.) biloba, sp. nov., ♀, holotype; 25, A. (A.) minutilepidota, sp. nov., ♂, holotype; 26, A. (A.) flavifusca, sp. nov., ♂, holotype; 27, A. (A.) flavifusca, sp. nov., ♀, paratype. (Scales = 2.0 mm)

FIGURES 259 – 261. Female genitalia of Argyresthia spp. 259, A. (Argyresthia) conjugella Zeller, slide no. LTT 12827; 260, A. (A.) biloba, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12342, holotype; 261, A. (A.) flavifusca, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12764, paratype. (Scales = 0.5 mm)