Coelopoeta fulminea Kaila, 2024

Kaila, Lauri, 2024, A review of Coelopoetinae (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea, Pterolonchidae), a moth subfamily confined to western North America, with descriptions of seven new species, Zootaxa 5458 (3), pp. 361-384 : 374-376

Coelopoeta fulminea Kaila , sp. nov.

Figs. 21–23 , 33 , 43

Holotype ♂: Canada, B.C., 49.070841°N, 120.790136°W, Manning Park , 1385 m, 10.viii.2020, leg. Dave G. Holden. L. Kaila prep. 6376; DNA sample http://tun.fi/MZH_NJ.17 ( CNC).

Paratypes: Canada, B.C., 50.533405°N, 121.744247°W, Lilloeet Pow , Kirby Flats, 442 m, 19.vi.2018, UV, 1 ♂ leg. Dave G. Holden, L. Kaila prep. 6375; DNA sample http://tun.fi/MZH_NJ.16 ( RCDH) ; Canada, B.C., 49.097248°N, 120.766530°W, Manning Park , 1968 m, 27.vii.2022 1 ♂ 1 ♀, L. Kaila prep. 6357 (♀), in RCDH; 49.070841°N, 790331°W, Manning Park, 1385 m, 24.viii.2022 1 ♂ leg. Dave G. Holden ( MZH) .

Diagnosis. C. fulminea is a large and narrow-winged species. The ground colour of forewing is brown; an early-summer specimen is widely pale cream-coloured ( Fig. 22 ). There is an indistinctly and variably delineated yellowish white spot at distal 2/3 of the dorsal margin. The male antennae are slightly serrate in distal 1/4. The male genitalia can be distinguished from other Coelopoeta species by the size of the uncus that is shorter than the tegumen. The female genitalia are characteristic with the presence of two distinct signa, whereas females of other known species have only one signum; although in C. aprica there is a very faint trace of a second signum.

Description. Forewing length 5–6 mm. Labial palpus 1/3 to half the diameter of head, porrect or slightly upcurved; labial palpus, head, neck tuft, tegula, thorax and scape of antenna varying from white to pale brown, pecten concolorous with scape. Flagellum filiform, except distal 1/4 which is slightly serrate, leaden grey, annulated with pale grey rings. Fore- and midleg grey, with white spot on tibia, tarsal articles basally white; hindleg off-white, slightly darker above. Forewing ground colour pale brown, sometimes widely creamy-coloured, with white to yellow, oblique patch in the middle of dorsal margin, directed towards apex; fringe concolorous with ground colour. Hindwing grey, fringe pale grey with yellowish hue. Underside of wings grey, fringe along apex of forewing yellow, otherwise grey.

Male genitalia. Uncus undivided, evenly tapered, curved as ventrally directed hook in distal 1/4, about 2/3 as long as tegumen. Gnathos as long as uncus, evenly tapered towards apex, straight. Tegumen in lateral view not as high as width of valva. Valva parallel-sided in lateral view, 2/3 as wide as long, somewhat inwardly bent in the distal half in ventral view, almost half as wide as long; termen distolaterally bulbous. Juxta broadest in the middle distally straight, evenly tapered to convex anterior margin. Saccus slightly bent dorsad, 2 x as long as its width at its narrowest point in middle, apex broadly rounded. Phallus slightly longer than valva, basal opening dorsally directed, without distinct carina along distal opening.

Female genitalia. Apophyses stout, apophysis posterioris 1.3 x as long as apophysis anterioris. Plate dorsad of ostium bursae square; ostium bursae about 1/4 as wide as sternum 8, ventral margin weakly concave, antrum widely funnel-shaped, border between antrum and colliculum narrow, colliculum parallel-sided, slightly longer than wide, sclerotized, granulose; ductus bursae otherwise nonexistent, joining corpus bursae without distinct border. Ductus seminalis incepted at border of colliculum and corpus bursae. Corpus bursae membranous, without internal spines, with one distinct, dentate signum consisting of two symmetric, medially joined parts.

Variation. The area of white-creamy white colour on forewing varies extensively.

Biology. Specimens have been caught at UV light from June through August at altitudes ranging from about 450 to 1968 m, otherwise the biology is unknown.

Distribution. Known from south-western British Columbia, Canada.

Figures

FIGURE 43. Female genitalia of C. fulminea sp. nov., in ventral view. British Columbia, Manning, L. Kaila prep. 6357.

FIGURES 17–22. Habitus of Coelopoeta spp.All images at the same scale as the first image. Figure 17: C. phaceliae Kaila, ♀, California, Solano County; Figure 18: C. phaceliae, ♀, California, Solano County; Figure 19: C. aurora sp. nov., ♂, holotype; Figure 20: C. aurora sp. nov., ♀, paratype, U.S.A. Colorado, Gilpin County; Figure 21: C. fulminea sp. nov., ♂, holotype; Figure 22: C. fulminea sp. nov., ♂, paratype, Canada, British Columbia, Lilloeet Pow, Kirby Flats.

FIGURES 23–28. Habitus of Coelopoeta spp.All images at the same scale as the first image. Figure 23: C. fulminea sp. nov., ♀, paratype, Canada, British Columbia, Manning Park; Figure 24: C. alboflava sp. nov., ♂, holotype; Figure 25: C. sariae sp. nov. ♂, holotype; Figure 26: C. maiadella Kaila, ♂, holotype; Figure 27: C. fissurina sp. nov., ♂, holotype; Figure 28. C. valalbui, ♂, holotype.

FIGURES 29–38. Male genitalia of Coelopoeta spp. Above lateral view with juxta and one valva excluded; below ventral view, with phallus excluded. Figure 29. C. glutinosi Walsingham. Figure 30: C. aprica sp. nov., holotype; Figure 31: C. phaceliae Kaila, California, Nevada Co.; Figure 32: C. aurora sp. nov., holotype; Figure 33: C. fulminea sp. nov., holotype; Figure 34: C. alboflava sp. nov., holotype; Figure 35: C. sariae sp. nov., holotype; Figure 36: C. maiadella sp. nov., holotype; Figure 37: C. fissurina sp. nov., holotype; 38: C. valalbui sp. nov., holotype.