Prismosticta tianpinga

Wang, Xing, Huang, Guo-Hua & Wang, Min, 2011, Notes on the genus Prismosticta (Lepidoptera, Bombycidae) with description of a new species from China, Zootaxa 2895, pp. 65-68 : 67-68

Prismosticta tianpinga Wang, Huang & Wang , sp. n.

( Figs. 2 –4?

Type material. Holotype. Male, Tianping Mountain, Badagongshan National Nature Reserve, Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province, China, 14.V.2007, Liu-Sheng Chen, Zhen Li and Yang Long leg., deposited in South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China ( SCAU). Paratype. 1 male, same data as holotype except for 6.V.2009, Guo-Hua Huang leg., deposited in Institute of Entomology, Hunan Agricultural University, China ( HUNAU).

Description. Male. Forewing length 16–18 mm, antenna length 5–8 mm, bipectnate to apex ( Fig. 2 ). Head. Frons covered with grey scales; proboscis absent; labial palpi moderately long with long brown scales. Thorax. Dorsum brown with long postmedian setae; abdomen with black scales, between thorax and abdomen with a wide light-grey band. Forewing ground color greenish brown; apex slightly falcate, apical part of the forewing with a larger triangular white hyaline dot; termen almost straight, curved near apex; antemedian and basal fasciae curved inwardly; postmedian and discocellular fasciae curved towards basal part of the forewing; discal cell with a larger dot. Anterior part of hind wing red brown, posterior part greenish brown; termen wavy; postmedian and discocellular fasciae obscure. Abdomen. Tergite VIII helmet, sternite VIII nearly rectangular ( Fig. 3). Male genitalia (Fig. 4) with uncus short and robust with two sickleshaped processes, mesial uncus weakly bilobed, V-shaped; gnathos slender with mesial scobination and protruded spines; apex of valva slightly pointed, mesial valva with a nearly rectangular process; saccus broad and short; aedeagus almost straight, about 0.7 x length of valva, vesica with three cornuti. Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality of Tianping Mountain.

Remarks. The new species is similar to P. regalis in wing pattern, and to P. fenestrata in male genitalia. Distinguishing characters include: forewing greenish brown in P. tianpinga , yellowish brown in P. regalis ; mesial uncus deeply bilobed, U-shaped, apex of valva truncate, mesial valva with a tongue-like process in P. fenestrata , mesial uncus weakly bilobed, V-shaped, apex of valva slightly pointed, mesial valva with a nearly rectangular process in P. tianpinga . Distributed in China (Hunan).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Male adult of Prismosticta tianpinga sp. n., Holotype.