Dialectica odontosema ( Vári, 1961 )

Sruoga, Virginijus & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, New species, new country distribution records, and a new generic combination of Afrotropical Acrocercopinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 5285 (1), pp. 75-115 : 94

Dialectica odontosema ( Vári, 1961)

( Figs 14A–F ; 15A–D )

Acrocercops odontosema ; Vári 1961: 150–151; pl. 5, fig. 6; pl. 61, fig. 5; pl. 97, fig. 3.

Dialectica odontosema ; De Prins & De Prins 2005: 173.

Material examined. 1♁, Kenya, Aberdare National Park, Ruhuruini Gates , 2300 m, 00°23’S 036°49’E, 22.x.2001, leg. J. De Prins. Gen. prep. VS553; 1♀ , Kenya, Nakuru National Park, Makalia Falls Camp Site, 00°27’S 036°04’E, 1855 m, 10.x.2001, leg. J. De Prins. Gen. prep. VS520, in coll. RBINS .

Diagnosis. Among the Afrotropical species of the Dialectica , D. odontosema is mostly similar to D. pavonicola ( Vári, 1961) , known from South Africa and D. columellina ( Vári, 1961) , known from South Africa and Kenya. Superficially D. odontosema can be separated from D. columellina and D. pavonicola by the white fasciae strongly narrowed towards anterior margin of the forewing. In the male genitalia D. odontosema can be distinguished most easily by cornuti all in clusters, while in D. columellina a pair of separate cornuti are near the apex of aedeagus. In the female genitalia, a pair of sclerotized horns in ductus bursae are in some distance from the corpus bursae in D. odontosema , while in D. columellina these horns are much closer to the corpus bursae. Ductus bursae in D. pavonicola with two spinosed areas between antrum and scobinated horns, while in D. odontosema and D. columellina there is only one such area.

Flight period. Adults on the wing are recorded in January ( Vári 1961) and October.

Host plant(s). Unknown.

Distribution. South Africa ( Vári 1961) and Kenya (new record).

Remark. Specimens belonging to this species from Kenya are present also in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Dialectica odontosema, male.A, adult, scale bar 1 mm; B, head, frontal view; C, genitalia, general view (aedeagus removed); D, aedeagus; E, cornuti; F, caudal part of abdominal pelt, gen. prep. VS553. Scale bar 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 15. Dialectica odontosema, female genitalia. A, caudal part; B, ductus and corpus bursae; C, spines in caudal part of ductus bursae; D, scobinate horns in central part of ductus bursae, gen. prep. VS520. Scale bar 0.1 mm.