Phyllonorycter chionopa (Vari, 1961)

Prins, Jurate De & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2012, Systematics, revisionary taxonomy, and biodiversity of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 3594 (1), pp. 1-283 : 67

The chionopa group

The forewing pattern of P. chionopa is very distinctive: large white patches on bright yellowish ochreous background. Male genitalia are characterized by slender parallel sided valva, a butterfly-shaped transtilla, and the lack of an extended saccus. Female genitalia of this group have a reduced sclerotized sterigma, short anterior apophyses which extend from the boundary between segment VII and VIII, ostium bursae opens at the boundary of segment VII and VIII. External and internal characters are very unique and thus, this species is placed in its own species group.