Phyllonorycter loxozona ( Meyrick, 1936 )

Prins, Jurate De & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2012, Systematics, revisionary taxonomy, and biodiversity of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 3594 (1), pp. 1-283 : 117-119

40. Phyllonorycter loxozona ( Meyrick, 1936)

( Figs 83, 84 , 237–239 , 332 , 391 )

Lithocolletis loxozona — Meyrick (1936: 33), Vári (1961: 221–223, pl. 23: 8, pl. 49: 5, pl. 106: 5).

Phyllonorycter loxozana [sic]— Bland (1980: 33) n. comb., Lopez-Vaamonde et al. (2003: 1818) [misidentification], Lopez-Vaamonde et al. (2006: 7) [misidentification].

Phyllonorycter loxozona — Vári & Kroon (1986: 51, 136, 157), Kroon (1999: 46, 101), Dall’Asta et al. (2001: 34), Vári et al. (2002: 26), De Prins & De Prins (2005: 314), De Prins & Mozūraitis (2006: figs 1, 5).

Diagnosis. The forewing pattern resembles very closely that of Phyllonorycter didymopa . But slight differences in external characters enable to separate P. loxozona from P. didymopa . Male and female genitalia of P. loxozona are highly distinctive from all the other Afrotropical Phyllonorycter species by the set of characters presented below.

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, [1] ‘Type’; [2] ‘ Uganda / Busunju / 2.x.1935 / [leg.] H. C. Taylor; [3] ‘Larvae mines at / base of leaf of / Dombeya emarginata ’; [4] ‘B.M. ♀ / Genitalia slide / No. 6110’; [5] ‘Pres. by / Imp.Inst. Ent. / B.M. 1936-552; [6] ‘ Lithocolletis loxozona n. sp. ’, in BMNH.

Paratypes: 2♂ (including 1♂ genitalia preparation). Uganda: 1♂, Cotype; Busunju, 2.x.1935, [leg.] T. H. C. Taylor; larvae mines at base of leaf of Dombeya emarginata ; Pres. by Imp. Inst. Ent., B.M. 1936-552; Lithocolletis loxozona n. sp., E. Meyrick det., in BMNH. 1♂, Paratype; Busunju, Uganda, TT. bred 10.35; genitalia prep. B.M. 3924♂, Lithocolletis loxozona Meyr. , det. E. Meyrick, in Meyrick Coll., B.M. 1938-290, in BMNH.

Additional material: 3♂, 4♀ and 1 specimen (including 3♂ and 4♀ genitalia preparations). South Africa: 1♀, Hartbeespoort Dam, Pta.Dist. [Pretoria District], 17.xii.1958, Ac[quisition]. no. 1701, gen. prep. 7796♀, Dombeya rotundifolia , in TMSA. 1♀, same locality data, 16.xii.1955, gen. prep. 7682♀, in TMSA. 1♂: same locality data, 20.ii.1955, Ac[quisition]. no. 1528, gen. prep. 7681♂, in TMSA. 1♂, same locality data, 01.ii.1955, gen. prep. 7188♂, in TMSA. 1♂: same data except date 21.ii.1955; gen. prep. 7798♂, in TMSA. 1♀: Rustenburg, Natuurreservaat, 10–17.xi.1976, [leg.] Potgieter & Molekane; gen. prep. De Prins 3697♀, in TMSA.

Redescription. Adult ( Figs 83, 84 ). Forewing length: 2.8–3.2 mm.

Head: Vertex tufted with white piliform scales intermixed with brown ochreous, more abundant posteriorly and dorsolaterally; frons shiny whitish. Labial palpus, slightly longer than eye, directed downwards, drooping, with sharp apex, white with a few fuscous scales ventrally, more abundant on ventral side of palpomere III. Maxilary palpus very short, porrect, white; haustellum pale beige. Antenna slightly shorter than forewing, with 46 flagellomeres, not clealy ringed; each flagellomere with sequence of light ochreous and light beige smooth scales, pale ochreous light to ca. 2/3 length, gradually darkened to fuscous at apical 1/3 dorsally, ventrally flagellomeres dirty white, pedicel pale beige ochreous; antennal scape white anteriorly and ochreous posteriorly, with dark brown tipped scales; 8–10 pecten white of different length, longest ones ca. as long as scape.

Thorax: White, tegulae ochreous anteriorly and white posteriorly. Forewing elongate, ground colour ochreous brown with white markings consisting of basal streak, two fasciae, two costal strigulae and one dorsal strigula; basal streak short, broader at base of dorsum, parallel to costa, not edged, first fascia close to base, oblique, directed towards apex, tapering, blunt at costa, fine edged apically with row of black scales, second fascia at 1/2 straight transverse, swelled at dorsal sector and bluntly tapering at costa, edged on both sides with row of black scales, costal strigula at 3/4 triangular, almost reaching midline of forewing, edged basally, dorsal strigula opposite costal strigula, larger than costal, triangular, reaching midline of forewing, edged basally; apical strigula comma shaped, narrow, rather long, terminating beyond midline of forewing, not edged. Irroration of blackish scales separates first costal and first dorsal strigulae, extending to apical termen and tornal sectors; fringe as long as width of forewing, light ochreous with fuscous metallic shine. Hindwing fuscous with long shiny fringe of same colour as hindwing. Fore coxa whitish, fore femur light brown fuscous dorsally and pale whitish beige ventrally, tibia fuscous with subbasal white patch, tarsomere I fuscous with white basal half, tarsomere II fuscous with dirty white subapical patch, tarsomere III fuscous, terminal tarsomeres light ochreous; mid-femur dirty white irrorated with dark fuscous scales subbasally, mid-tibia dirty white with 3 dark fuscous ochreous patches: small basal, median, and largest apical, tibial spurs white with dark brown subapices; tarsomeres I white with light ochreous median patch, tarsomere II white, tarsomere III white with pale ochreous apical part, terminal tarsomeres dirty white; hind coxa dirty white with some ochreous scales, hind femur white with ochreous median patch, hind tibia white with light ochreous patch stretching from middle to subapex and mixed with fuscous scales, median spurs dirty white with small dark brown subbasal patch and large elongate subapical patch, apical spurs dirty white with patch subbasaly and other patch subapically of equal size or only with one patch subapically, tarsomeres I–II white with faint fuscous patches subapically, tarsomere III white, terminal tarsomeres dirty white.

Abdomen. mainly dark fuscous, terga I–II greyish ochreous, terga III–V silverish grey, terga VI–VIII dark fuscous; underside pale, whitish, sterna I–IV gradually shading to light ochreous, sterna V–VIII light ochreous. SternumVIII in males short, truncate, strongly tapering caudally with blunt, light bidentate apex.

Male genitalia ( Figs 237–239 ). Tegumen rather short, weakly sclerotized; tuba analis long, protruding, membranous, naked, truncate apically. A pair of setae on apex of tegumen at sides of tubal analis appendage. Valvae symmetrical, ca. twice as long as sternum VIII, curved, broader basally, costal and dorsal margins parallel to 1/5, costal margin sinuate from 1/5 to 2/3, narrowest at 2/3; apical 1/3 curved, broadened, gently rounded at apex; very strongly setose at apical 1/3 with fine short hairs, transtilla as broad as diameter of aedoeagus, sclerotized; vinculum broad half moon shaped, strongly sclerotized, saccus short, bluntly pointed; aedoeagus slightly longer than valva, curved, tubular, tapering towards vesica, bluntly pointed, coecum heavily, vesica weakly sclerotized.

Female genitalia ( Figs 332 ). Papillae anales connected laterally, oval with broadly rounded apices, ca 1.3 longer than wide, weakly sclerotized, covered with scarce short setae on apical sector of papillae anales and long fine scarce setae on lateral surface; basal bar raher broad, sclerotized, bases of posterior apophyses laterally elongate wide, triangular, well sclerotized. Posterior apophyses well sclerotized, slightly sinuate, twice wider at basal half, narrow at apical half with sharply pointed apices, ca. 270–290 µm (n = 3) long, nearly reaching posterior margin of segment VII. Anterior apophyses slightly more slender than posterior apophyses, equally slender throughout, slightly curved, sharply pointed, slightly shorter than posterior apophyses, ca. 220–240 µm (n = 3) long, reaching subanterior sector of segment VII. Segment VIII weakly sclerotized, weakly connected with segment VII. Segment VII sclerotized, broad trapezoidal, sternum VII shorter than tergum VII, with strongly sclerotized, bowed edges anteriorly, ca. 320 µm long. Ostium bursae located at posterior edge of segment VII, with narrow but heavily sclerotized posterior edge, ringed, antrum tubular, saccular, 2/3 as long as sternum VII, gently tapering into ductus bursae, sclerotized, densely covered with microspinules arranged in regular rows; ductus bursae long, about as long as corpus bursae (ca. 522–553 µm long), a small sclerotized plate appressed to ductus bursae anteriad of antrum; corpus bursae moderate, simple, slightly elongated, gently rounded caudally, ca. 540 µm long, ca. 350 µm wide; no signum. Bulla spermathecae tiny, kidney-shaped, located between segments VII and VI, ductus spermathecae, short, tightly compacted from 36–39 spirals.

Variation. There is a little variation in the width and margin of the first fascia of the forewing.

Biology. Hostplants. Two species of Dombeya [ Malvaceae ] have been recorded as hosts: D. buettneri K. Schum. (= D. emarginata A. E. Bruce )— Meyrick (1936: 33), Vári (1961: 223), Dall’Asta et al. (2001: 34), De Prins & De Prins (2005: 314); and D. rotundifolia (Hochst.) Planch. — Vári (1961: 223), Kroon (1999: 46), Dall’Asta et al. (2001: 34), De Prins & De Prins (2005: 314).

Remarks. The record of C. loxozona feeding on D. bagshawei Baker f. (online database HOSTS, De Prins & De Prins 2005: 314) needs confirmation, since we could not find any specimen matching the HOSTS database references. Dombeya torrida (J. F. Gmel.) Bamps should be excluded from the host list of C. loxozona , since the check of voucher material used for the publication ( Lopez-Vaamonde 2003: 1818) revealed that this record is a misidentification of the species C. torridella .

Mine. A long, narrow, semi-trasparent gallery, mainly along edge of leaf; later on a gall-like swelling near the petiole of the leaf ( Vári 1961: 222).

Flight period. The specimens were collected in two periods of the year: from early February to middle of May and from early October to middle of December.

Distribution. ( Fig. 391 ). This species is recorded in South Africa ( Vári 1961: 223) and Uganda ( Meyrick 1936: 33).

Remarks.The record on P. loxozana [sic] collected in Zuni [recte Turi], Kenya ( Lopez-Vaamonde 2003: 1818) is excluded from the distribution map since it is a misidentification of Cameraria torridella De Prins , sp. n.

Figures

FIGURES 81–86. Adults. Scale bar 1 mm. 81, Phyllonorycter didymopa, holotype 6494♀, South Africa, Tswaing, 16.i.1955, in TMSA. 82, Phyllonorycter didymopa, ♀, South Africa, Tswaing, 16.xi.2004, leg. J. & W. De Prins, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000003287. 83, Phyllonorycter loxozona, holotype ♀, Uganda, Busunju, 02.x.1935, leg. H.C. Taylor, in BMNH. 84, Phyllonorycter loxozona, ♀, South Africa, Rustenburg, 10–17.xi.1976, leg. Potgieter & Molekane, in TMSA. 85, Phyllonorycter madagascariensis, holotype, Antananarivo, leg. R. Paulian. The drawing is made by Willy De Prins after the original description and the drawing of Viette (1949: 175–176, fig. 5). 86, Phyllonorycter aarviki, holotype ♀, Tanzania, Morogoro, 25.iii.1992, leg. L. Aarvik, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000004128.

FIGURES 237–239. Male genitalia. Scale bar 100 µm. 237–239, Phyllonorycter loxozona, paratype, B.M. genitalia prep. 3924, in BMNH. 237, ventral view. 238, sternum VIII. 239, cucullus.

FIGURES 332–333. Female genitalia. Scale bar 200 µm. 332, Phyllonorycter loxozona, holotype, the drawing is made by Willy De Prins after the genitalia prep. 6110, in BMNH. 333, Phyllonorycter aarviki, holotype, genitalia prep. MRAC/KMMA 00370, in RMCA.

FIGURES 391–402. Distribution of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae species. 391, Phyllonorycter loxozona. 392, Phyllonorycter madagascariensis. 393, Phyllonorycter aarviki. 394, Phyllonorycter anchistea. 395, Phyllonorycter melanosparta. 396, Phyllonorycter melhaniae. 397, Phyllonorycter rongensis. 398, Phyllonorycter mida. 399, Phyllonorycter tsavensis. 400, Phyllonorycter obandai. 401, Phyllonorycter farensis. 402, Phyllonorycter fletcheri.