Elachista

Kaila, Lauri & Sruoga, Virginijus, 2014, Definition of the Elachista puplesisi Sruoga complex (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea, Elachistidae), with description of a new species, Zootaxa 3821 (5), pp. 583-589 : 584

Synapomorphies of Elachista

The characters listed here are in part illustrated in Figs 1–12; others are depicted in Traugott-Olsen & Nielsen (1977), Kaila (1999) and Kaila & Sugisima (2011). The valval process is formed as a sclerotised hook. This is a nearly universal character in Elachista and is secondarily reduced in only a few species; it is present in the E. puplesisi group. The distal part of the valva, i.e. the area beyond the valval process, is strongly enlarged; this is characteristic of all Elachista species except E. sinevi ( Sruoga 1992, in Sruoga & Puplesis 1992); it is present in E. puplesisi group. The median plate of the juxta is shaped as a concave plate with folded margins (64:3 character state in Kaila & Sugisima 2011); it is universal in Elachista , including E. puplesisi group. This character is further modified in several lineages of Elachista . A tongue-shaped, distally setose digitate process is present between the juxta and valva; this may be homologous with a similar structure in several gelechioid lineages but is absent in other elachistine genera ( Traugott-Olsen & Nielsen 1977; Nielsen & Traugott-Olsen 1978; Kaila 1999, 2004, 2009; De Prins & Sruoga 2012; Heikkilä et al. 2014); it is sometimes secondarily lost in Elachista , and is absent also in E. puplesisi group. The exposed pupa of many Elachista species is supported by a silken girdle attached to the surface and surrounding the pupa between abdominal segments 4 and 5, with some exceptions (Kaila 2011); the immature stages of the constituent species of the E. puplesisi group are unknown.