Scrobipalpula densata (Meyrick)

Cepeda Museo Entomológico Luis Peña, Danilo E., Vegetal, Departamento de Sanidad, Agronómicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Chile, Universidad de & E-mail, Chile., 2019, Descriptions of two new species of the genus Scrobipalpomima Povolný (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and two new records of Gnorimoschemini from Chile, Revista Chilena de Entomología 1, pp. 21-30 : 25-26

Scrobipalpula densata (Meyrick)

( Figs. 17-22)

Remarks. Phthorimaea densata was described by Meyrick (1917) based on specimens from Lima, Peru. Povolný (1967) provisionally assigned the species to Scrobipalpula and treated Phthorimaea laciniosa Meyrick 1931 as a synonym of S. densata . Subsequently, Povolný (1989a) transferred P. laciniosa to Symmetrischema , treating it as a valid species and describing males from several Argentinean localities. Povonlý (1990) reiterated that S. densata could belong in a different genus, but the female remained unknown, hindering convincing placement. Landry and Roque-Albelo (2010) recorded this species from the Galapagos Islands, based on two specimens reared from Cacabus miersii (Hook. f.) Wettst. ( Solanaceae ), a plant that is endemic to and widespread and occur in most of Galapagos Islands. They also figured the female genitalia of S. densata , although with reservations due to the paucity of material. Specimens from Chile were collected with ultraviolet light traps in two different localities in the Atacama region and are associated with desert and coastal scrubland. The Chilean specimens compare well with the descriptions and figures in Meyrick (1917) and Povolný (1967, 1990), and especially with the figure of the female genitalia in Landry and Roque-Albelo (2010). Based on morphological characters of the male and female genitalia (e.g., trilobed gnathos and slender phallus in the male, lobed corpus bursae lacking a signum in the female), S. densata requires a new genus, as suggested by Povolný (1967, 1990).

Material examined. 19 specimens. Chile, Huasco province , Tamarico, 28°21’S, 71°46’W, 568 m, 22-IX-2017, J.F. Campodonico leg.; Chile, Huasco province, Caleta Los Bronces, 28°38’S, 71°16’W, 200 m, 21-IX-2017, J.F. Campodonico leg. Permanent genitalia slides 778♂, 779♀, 791♂, 792♀, 799♂ and 800♂ ( MEUC)

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