Phyllonorycter pavoniae ( Vári, 1961 )

Prins, Jurate De & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2012, Systematics, revisionary taxonomy, and biodiversity of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 3594 (1), pp. 1-283 : 148-150

56. Phyllonorycter pavoniae ( Vári, 1961)

( Figs 107, 108 , 131 , 133 , 271, 272 , 346 , 407 )

Lithocolletis pavoniae — Vári (1961: 217–218; pl. 23, fig. 4; pl. 65, fig. 7; pl. 105, fig. 2.)

Phyllonorycter pavoniae — Vári & Kroon (1986: 66, 136, 157), Kroon (1999: 61, 110), Dall’Asta et al. (2001: 34), Vári et al. (2002: 26), De Prins & De Prins (2005: 331).

Diagnosis. The wing pattern of P. pavoniae does not provide sufficient diagnostic characters to separate this species from many other Phyllonorycter species that posess two fasciae, two costal strigulae and one dorsal strigula. The main means for identification are the male genitalia. Only in P. pavoniae is the valval ventral process narrow, long digitate. The shape of valval process makes P. pavoniae readily diagnosable among the rhynchosiae species group. The longer tubular antrum and stellate signum with 16 marginal rays can separate P. pavoniae from the remaining species in the rhynchosiae species group.

Material examined. Holotype: ♂, [1] [ South Africa] ‘ Chipise, [ Tshipise ( Vári 1961: 218)] T[rans]v[aa]l. / 28.v.1953 / [leg.] L. Vári / Ac.[quisition] no: 770’; [2] ‘12’; [3] ‘G[enitalia] / 7140’; [4] ‘ Lithocolletis / pavoniae Vári / ♂ HOLOTYPE No 6391’, in TMSA.

Paratypes: 3♀, 1♂ (including 2♀ genitalia preparations). South Africa: 1♀, Chipise, T[rans]v[aa]l., 11.v.1953, [leg.] L. Vári, Ac.[quisition] no 770; G.[enitalia] 7141; Lithocolletis pavoniae Vári ♀ ALLOTYPE No 6392, in TMSA. 1♀, Chipise, Tvl.[Transvaal], 22.v.1953, [leg.] L. Vári, Ac.[quisition] no 770; 3102; Lithocolletis pavoniae Vári PARATYPE No 6393, in TMSA. 1♂, Chipise, Tvl. [Transvaal], 18.v.1953, [leg.] L. Vári, Ac[quisition]. no 770; Lithocolletis pavoniae Vári PARATYPE No 6395, in TMSA. 1♀, Alexandria (Langebos), 9.xii.1954, Ac.[quisition] no 1456; G.[enitalia] 7497; Lithocolletis pavoniae Vári PARATYPE No 6394, in TMSA.

Additional material: 1♂, 1♀ (including 1♂ and 1♀ genitalia preparations) and 12 specimens. South Africa: 1♀, Barberton, 17.xii.1910, [leg.] A. J. T. Janse, G.[enitalia] 7503, teste Meyrick, 3006, in TMSA. 1♂, Kruger National Park Survey, Punda Milia, 18–30.v.1975, Ac.[quisition] no. 3412, gen. prep. De Prins 3694♂ (MRAC/KMMA 00354), specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000003360, in RMCA. 12 specimens, the same locality data, in TMSA.

Redescription. Adult ( Figs 107, 108 , 131 , 133 ). Forewing length: 2.5–3.0 mm.

Head: Vertex tufted ochreous, with a bunch of white piliform scales posteriorly; frons whitish with a very faint pale ochreous suffusion. Labial palpus white outwards and with dark fuscous scales inwards, proboscis pale beige. Antenna slightly shorter than forewing, fuscous above, not clearly ringed but apical scales of flagellomeres brown tipped; underside whitish; scape pale ochreous anteriorly and dark ochreous posteriorly, 8–10 short pecten dirty white, pedicel as rest of flagellomeres.

Thorax: Shiny bronze ochreous with a curved transverse white line in middle, tegula bronze ochreous with white apex. Forewing elongate, ground colour bronze ochreous with a few white and black scales at base, forming a very short line; white markings consisting of two transverse fasciae, two costal and one dorsal strigulae; first fascia at 1/4 of forewing, very slightly curved in middle, 2× broader at dorsal than at costal margin, finely edged with dark brown scales basally, apical margin is not clearly defined, anastomosing to ground ochreous colour (in holotype), but clearly edged apically in many other specimens; second fascia at middle of forewing, gently angulated subcostally, broader than first fascia, dorsal margin twice as broad as costal one, finely edged with a row of dark brown scales basally (in holotype), edged on both sides in many other specimens; first costal and first dorsal strigulae at 3/4 of forewing, triangular shaped, reaching middle of forewing with their angles, clearly edged basally and indistinctly defined apically, second costal strigula at apex, comma shaped, edged with dispersed dark brown blackish scales, apical sector darker ochreous, an irroration of blackish scales extends from junction of first costal and first dorsal strigulae along termen sector; fringe short pale ochreous from apex to tornus, and long pale greyish along dorsal margin and tornus. Hindwing pale greyish beige, slightly shiny; fringe very pale fuscous. Fore femur blackish fuscous, tibia with a small subbasal and median light fuscous patch on outer side, tarsomeres I –III fuscous, tarsomeres IV–V beige, mid-femur with base and apical half irrorated with dark fuscous, mid-tibia with blackish fuscous base and two very oblique, blackish-fuscous stripes at 1/3 and 2/3, tarsomere I with a subbasal and a subapical blackish fuscous patches, tarsomere II white with blackish-fuscous apex, tarsomere III with basal two thirds blackish-fuscous, tarsomere IV white, tarsomere V pale beige; hind femor with a basal and a subapical fuscous patch, tibia beige, median spurs with dispersed sparse dark brown scales, apical spurs with dark brown subapices, in male hind tarsomere I and II with a faint subapical ochreous patch, tarsomere III with very faint subapical ochreous patch, tarsomere IV–V dirty white; in female hind tarsomere I with faint subapical ochreous patch, tarsomeres II–V dirty white.

Abdomen: Fuscous dorsally and pale ochreous whitish ventrally. Segment VIII in males is moderate, shorter than tegumen.

Male genitalia ( Figs 271, 272 ). Tegumen arms narrow, sclerotized, running parallel, not jointed at apex, about 2/3 of length of valva, broad basally, more thickly sclerotized at basal part and short, weakly sclerotized, triangular, bluntly pointed at apex, covered with short stiff small microsetae. Valva moderate, projected laterally; basal 1/4 of lateral surface broad, slightly puffed, without setae; apical 3/4 of valva consisting of two valval longitudinal surfaces of different length and distinctive sacculus; dorsal and median surfaces joint by narrow suture; dorsal margin gently sinuates, median surface extends significantly, apical half of valva covered with sparse but long setae; sacculus bears a process with 7–8 long setae at apex. Vinculum broad, strongly sclerotized, U-shaped with slender saccus, about same length as segment VIII; transtilla well developed, thickly sclerotized half rounded, bow shaped. Aedoaegus rather long, slightly longer than valva, slender, almost straight, enlarged at coecum; vesica with one thick, rod-shaped, submarginal and subapical cornutus, ca. 1/10 as long as aedoeagus.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 346 ). Papillae anales moderate, oval, flattened distal-proximatelly, with setation of variable length, basal bar narrow, weakly sclerotized, slightly wider ventrad posterior apophyses. A slender needlelike sclerotized projection extends from basal bar of papillae anales and reaches posterior 2/5 of segment VIII. Posterior apophyses narrow, apically slightly separating, with pointed apices, straight, reaching posterior margin of segment VII. Segment VIII narrow, weakly sclerotized, connected dorsally and ventrally. Anterior apophyses almost as long as posterior, slightly curved, slender, reaching middle of segment VII, beyond of ostium bursae, parallel to each other, apically pointed. Antrum located in posterior 1/3 of segment VII, thickly sclerotized shaped as short tube; ostium bursae circular, sterigma anteriad antrum forming a sclerotized fold, which occupies midden sector of segment VII. Ductus bursae narrow, slender, moderately long, lightly sclerotized. Corpus bursae moderate, globular, with a large oval area set with fine and short spines and a circular signum with 16 fine dentate rays along its margin.

Variation. Phyllonorycter pavoniae is a variable species. The pattern of forewing can vary in following markings: the first costal and first dorsal strigulae can be joined into a third fascia, and the apical costal strigula can be reduced to form an obscure, dirty pale patch; the apical edging with blackish scales of first and second fascia can be absent; the apical sector of forewing can be of different shading from darker ochreous to brown. In male genitalia a ventral process of sacculus can vary slightly in length. The antrum in the female genitalia may have one or two transverse, obliquely pointing folds; the sterigma and cuticular fold forming part of lamella antevaginalis varies slightly in size; and the position of the stellate signum on the corpus bursae varies slightly, depending of how shrivelled the corpus bursae is in dissected specimens.

Habitat. Mines of P. pavoniae were collected in southern Africa between the southern latitudes of 22° and 33°.

Host plant(s). Malvaceae : Pavonia burchellii (DC) R. A. Dyer , P. praemorsa Cav. — Vári 1961: 218, Kroon 1999: 61, Dall’Asta et al. 2001: 34, De Prins & De Prins 2005: 331.

Mine. A very small, oblong, semi-transparent, tentiform mine on the underside of the leaf; fine black frass at one end of mine; exuvium protrudes epidermis of the leaf before adult emerges ( Vári 1961: 218, De Prins & De Prins 2005: 331). The mining period is ca. 10 days (Vári’s note No 1456 in the manuscript notebook of 29/11/ 1954).

Flight period. Adults were collected in the period from early December (earliest record: 9 December in 1954) to late May (latest record: 30 May in 1975).

Distribution. ( Fig. 407 ). Recorded from several localities in South Africa ( Vári 1961: 218).

Figures

FIGURES 105–110. Adults. Scale bar 1 mm. 105, Phyllonorycter mwatawalai, holotype ♀, Tanzania, Morogoro, 14.vii.2009, leg. J. & W. De Prins, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000005331. 106, Phyllonorycter ocimellus, holotype ♂, Kenya, Taita Hills, mine 09.iv.2001, leg. J. & W. De Prins, specimen ID: RMCA ENT 000003353. 107, Phyllonorycter pavoniae, holotype 6391♂, South Africa, Chipise, 28.v.1953, leg. L. Vári, in TMSA. 108, Phyllonorycter pavoniae, ♂, South Africa, Kruger National Park, Punda Milia, 18–30.v.1975, in TMSA. 109, Phyllonorycter rhynchosiae, holotype 6379♂, South Africa, Pretoria, 14.iii.1949, leg. L. Vári, in TMSA. 110, Phyllonorycter rhynchosiae, paratype 6390♂, South Africa, Hartebeestpoort, 11.ii.1955, leg. L. Vári, in TMSA.

FIGURES 123–131. Diagnostic characters in hind legs between congeneric Afrotropical Lithocolletinae species. 123, Cameraria fara, hind tarsus white with a brownish spot subbasally and two blackish rings: narrow medially and broad subapically, tarsomere V white. 124, Cameraria landryi, hind tarsus white with two blackish small spots basally and two blackish rings: narrow medially and broad subapically, tarsomere V white with dark fuscous tip. 125, Cameraria varii, hind tarsus white with a blackish small spot basally and three blackish rings of median width, tarsomere V white. 126, Phyllonorycter encaeria, hind tarsomeres I–III with faint fuscous subapical patches. 127, Phyllonorycter lantanae, hind tarsomere I with subbasal and subapical dark fuscous patches, tarsomere II with dark fuscous apical half, tarsomere III with a dark fuscous basal half. 128, Phyllonorycter anchistea, hind tarsomere I dotted. 129, Phyllonorycter melanosparta, hind tarsomere I not dotted. 130, Phyllonorycter hibiscina, hind tarsomere I white with a dark fuscous apex. 131, Phyllonorycter pavoniae, hind tarsomere I with a faint subapical ochreous patch.

FIGURES 132–133. Diagnostic characters in frons between two related Afrotropical Lithocolletinae species. 132, Phyllonorycter melhaniae, frons shiny white with irrorated dispersed dark brown scales. 133, Phyllonorycter pavoniae, frons whitish with a very faint pale ochreous suffusion.

FIGURES 271–274. Male genitalia. Scale bar 100 µm. 271–272, Phyllonorycter pavoniae, holotype, the drawing is made by Willy De Prins after the genitalia prep. Vári 7140, in TMSA. 271, lateral view. 272, aedoeagus.273–274, Phyllonorycter rhynchosiae, paratype, the drawing is made by Willy De Prins after the genitalia prep. Vári 7498, in TMSA. 273, lateral view. 274, aedoeagus.

FIGURES 345–346. Female genitalia. Scale bar 200 µm. 345, Phyllonorycter ocimellus, paratype, genitalia prep. MRAC/ KMMA 00353, in RMCA. 346, Phyllonorycter pavoniae, paratype, the drawing is made by Willy De Prins after the genitalia prep. Vári 7497, in TMSA.

FIGURES 403–414. Distribution of Afrotropical Lithocolletinae species. 403, Phyllonorycter gozmanyi. 404, Phyllonorycter maererei. 405, Phyllonorycter mwatawalai. 406, Phyllonorycter ocimellus. 407, Phyllonorycter pavoniae. 408, Phyllonorycter rhynchosiae. 409, Phyllonorycter ruwenzori. 410, Phyllonorycter silvicola. 411, Phyllonorycter umukarus. 412, Cremastobombycia kipepeo. 413, Cremastobombycia morogorene. 414, Porphyrosela desmodivora.