Neolithocolletis mayumbe De Prins, 2012

Prins, Jurate De & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2012, Systematics, revisionary taxonomy, and biodiversity of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 3594 (1), pp. 1-283 : 31-32

2. Neolithocolletis mayumbe De Prins , new species

( Figs 12 , 22 , 144–146 , 357 , 443 , 447 )

Diagnosis. Neolithocolletis mayumbe can be separated from all other Afrotrotropical Lithocolletinae by the shiny golden ground colour of the forewing and the presence of indistinct whitish fasciae. The male genitalia of N. mayumbe has a tegumen with two pairs of apical setae and narrow bar-shaped valva with two barbs at the cucullus.

Holotype: ♂, [1] ‘Congo Dem. Rep. [ Democratic Republic of the Congo] / Bas-Congo 320 m / Nat.[ure] Res.[erve] Luki-Mayumbe / 05°27’S 13°05’E / 22.iii.2006 / leg. J. & W. De Prins’; [2] ‘Gen. Prep. 3704♂ / De Prins’; [3] ‘MRAC/KMMA / 00407’; wing venation preparation [4] ‘MRAC/KMMA 00535’; specimen ID: [5] ‘ RMCA ENT 000003293 ’; [6] ‘DNA voucher / CLV16007’, in INRA; [7] ‘Holotype ♂ / Neolithocolletis / mayumbe / De Prins, 2012 ’, in RMCA.

Description. Adult ( Fig. 22 ). Forewing length: 2.1 mm (holotype).

Head: Vertex tufted with golden shiny piliform scales directed dorso-anteriorly, with faint intermixture of chestnut tipped piliform scales, occiput with short, almost white piliform scales directed dorso-posteriorly; frons smooth shiny white. Labial palpus slightly longer than eye, dirty white with a couple of dark ochreous scales on external lateral side of palpomere, drooping, directed ventrally, terminal palpomere with blunt apex, maxillary palpus small silver shiny, directed anteriorly; haustellum pale beige. Antenna nearly as long as forewing, not ringed, consisting of 39–40 flagellomeres, shiny golden to 2/3, flagellomeres with dark ochreous tipped scales apically at distal 1/3, followed by silvery shiny sector of flagellomeres, subterminal flagellomeres ringed by elongate, stout, dark brown scales (visible at 50×) followed by pale beige apex of antenna; scape only slightly thicker than flagellomere, short, white with a few dark brown scales dorsally, bearing 10–12 thick dirty white pecten half as long as diameter of compound eye, pedicel as rest of basal flagellomeres.

Thorax: Shiny white with slight golden shading on anterior and lateral margins, tegulae shiny golden. Forewing elongate, ground colour shiny golden, with indistinct fasciate whitish markings, intermixing with ground colour of forewing and dark beige scales; small dark brown round patch present on apex; fringe shiny golden, short from apex to tornus, and dirty white, long with some fuscous tipped scales at tornus. Hindwing silvery shiny greyish white; fringe very long, shiny, concolourous with ground colour of hindwing. Fore femur fuscous ochreous dorsally and dirty white ventrally with dark brown stout scales at apex; foretibia is fuscous ochreous irrorated with dark brown round appressed scales dorsally and elongate, stout, dark brown scales laterally; tarsomere I pale ochreous with dark ochreous apex, tarsomere II dirty white with fuscous apex, tarsomere III fuscous, tarsomere IV shiny white with fuscous at base, tarsomere V shiny white; midfemur white, midtibia dirty beige and tarsus uniformly pale ochreous beige with dark brown scales on apex of terminal tarsomere; hind femur and hind tibia dirty white, tibial spurs shiny white, tarsomeres I and II dirty white with pale ochreous apex, tarsomere III ochreous fuscous with white apex, terminal tarsomeres shiny white.

Abdomen: Ochreous dorsally, terga I–III light beige, shiny white ventrally with yellowish shade in genital segments. Sternum VIII rather long, 397 µm, spatulate, lateral margins strongly sclerotized, roughly edged, caudal part gently rounded.

Male genitalia ( Figs 144–146 ). Tegumen moderately long (ca. 455 µ m), slightly shorter than valva, tegumenal arms narrow, sclerotized, subapically abuting, apical part subconical, spinulosae with three slender apical setae 54–65 µm long (visible at enlargement 100×) [fourth seta not perceptible in preparation due to its slight laterodorsal position on apex of tegumen]. Valvae symmetrical, valva elongate, slender, narrow, ca. 480 µ m long, nearly parallel-sided, slightly inflated caudally, with two large barbs at cucullus: one at apex, other at ventral subapical margin of valva; apical half of valval ventral surface densely covered with long setae; valva sparsely setose medially, setae free at basal one third. Vinculum well developed, U-shaped, strongly sclerotized, with long, slender saccus, almost two-thirds length of valva (352 µm); saccus pointed caudally. Transtilla moderately developed, complete. Aedoeagus ca. 600 µm long, longer than valva, with enlarged coecum, slender cylindrical towards vesica, vesica with dense scobination (visible at enlargement 200×). Anellus developed, conical.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Etymology. The name refers to the type locality, Mayumbe Forest. It is a noun in apposition.

Habitat. West African primary forest ( Figs 443 , 447 ).

Host plant(s). Unknown.

Flight period. The specimen was collected in late March.

Distribution. ( Fig. 357 ). Known only from the type locality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Figures

FIGURES 11–20. Wing morphology of the Afrotropical Lithocolletinae genera. 11, Hyloconis luki, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00454. 12, Neolithocolletis mayumbe, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00535. 13, Neolithocolletis nsengai, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00427. 14, Cameraria perodeaui, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00453. 15, Cameraria torridella, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00490. 16, Phyllonorycter grewiaecola, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00528. 17, Phyllonorycter melanosparta, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00497. 18, Cremastobombycia kipepeo, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00494. 19, Cremastobombycia morogorene, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00667. 20, Porphyrosela teramni, wing venation prep. MRAC/KMMA 00434.

FIGURES 21–26. Adults. Scale bar 1 mm. 21, Hyloconis luki, holotype ♂, DRC, Bas-Congo, Luki-Mayumbe NR, 23.v.2007, leg. J. & W. De Prins, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000004800. 22, Neolithocolletis mayumbe, holotype ♂, DRC, Bas-Congo, Luki-Mayumbe NR, 22.iii.2006, leg. J. & W. De Prins, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000003293. 23, Neolithocolletis nsengai, paratype ♀, DRC, Bas-Congo, Luki-Mayumbe NR, 16.v.2007, leg. J. & W. De Prins, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000004793. 24, Neolithocolletis pentadesma, ♀, Seychelles, Fregate island, 4.x.2002, leg. J. Gerlach, in CUMZ. 25, Cameraria hexalobina, holotype 6364♂, South Africa, Punda Maria, 12.iv.1952, leg. L. Vári, in TMSA. 26, Cameraria hexalobina, paratype 6368♂, South Africa, Punda Maria, 15.iv.1952, leg. L. Vári, in TMSA.

FIGURES 142–146. Male genitalia. Scale bar 100 µm. 142–143, Hyloconis luki, holotype, genitalia prep. MRAC/KMMA 00452, in RMCA. 142, ventral view. 143, aedoeagus. 144–146, Neolithocolletis mayumbe, holotype, genitalia prep. MRAC/ KMMA 00407, in RMCA. 144, ventral view. 145, sternum VIII. 146, aedoeagus.

FIGURES 356–366. Distribution of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae species. 356, Hyloconis luki. 357, Neolithocolletis mayumbe. 358, Neolithocolletis nsengai. 359, Cameraria hexalobina. 360, Cameraria fara. 361, Cameraria landryi. 362, Cameraria varii. 363, Cameraria perodeaui. 364, Cameraria sokoke. 365, Cameraria zaira. 366, Cameraria torridella.

FIGURES 441–445. Habitats of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae species. 441, Kakamega Forest, Kenya, April 2003. The habitat is the most eastern relict of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest. 442, Faro River area, Cameroon, May 2005. The habitat is a repeatedly burned savannah and bush land. 443, Mayumbe Forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 2007. The habitat is an undisturbed primary rain forest. 444, Nyungwe Forest, Rwanda, August 2008. The habitat is a montane rain forest. 445, Morogoro are, Tanzania, July 2009. The habitat is variable: transitional dry lowland /submontane woodland.

FIGURES 446–447. Contributors to this study. 446, from left: Lajos Vári, Jurate De Prins and Willy De Prins in the Lepidoptera collection of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (formerly Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa, 20 November, 2004. 447, from left: Akito Kawahara, Jurate De Prins, Willy De Prins and local forest guide in Mayumbe Forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo after 8 hours of tracking, 23 May 2007.