Nemophora caeruliantenna Liao, Hirowatari & Huang, 2023

Liao, Cheng-Qing, Hirowatari, Toshiya, Yagi, Sadahisa, Wang, Min, Wang, Xing & Huang, Guo-Hua, 2023, The fauna of the family Adelidae (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) from China, Zootaxa 5348 (1), pp. 1-152 : 37-38

(36) Nemophora caeruliantenna Liao, Hirowatari & Huang , sp. nov.

(Plates IV-6, XV-2)

LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:ACB8F833-847D-468B-B3E9-6B4C2DF7A824

Diagnosis. This species is easily distinguishable from other congeners by its unique metallic blue forewing pattern With orange reddish central fascia and the metallic blue basal antenna.

Description. Male. Forewing about 10.0 mm; wing expanse about 20.5 mm.

Vertex densely covered with orange-reddish hairs; face with orange to brownish scales. Eyes large, close to each other dorsally; eye size index about 8.0. Labial palpus short, densely covered with brownish hairs; galeae with brownish scales laterally. Antenna slender, about 2.4 times of forewing length; basal 1/6 blue with metallic luster, the remaining apical part white. Legs brownish to dark brown except forelegs black; foretarsi yellow but mid- and hindtarsi black. Thoracic dorsum and tegula metallic blue with bright luster. Forewing relatively broad, length about 2.8 × width; ground color blueish-green mixed with numerous black scales, with blight green metallic luster especially apical area; a broad transverse orange reddish central fascia placed at basal 1/3 to 1/2, and margined with silvery-leaden fascia which are narrowly boarded with black; distal 1/3 metallic blue scattered with black scales near silvery-leaden fasciae; cilia dark brown. Hindwing entirely light brown; cilia brown. Abdomen dark brown to black.

Female. Unknown.

Male genitalia. Uncus near quadrate, with a weak median keel; apex distinctly curved downward. Vinculum near trapezoid, about 2.8 × valva; anterior margin acute, posterior margin projected medially. Valva short, triangular, covered with dense hairs; sacculus expanding and forming a pair of knife-shaped processes; suspensorium very small, anterior part at same level of posterior margin of vinculum. Transtilla slightly narrow in middle part; median process short and pointed. Aedeagus stout and slightly curved dorsally; apical portion with a pair of bent and strongly sclerotized carinae dorsolaterally; vesica with a patch of microtrichia. Juxta arrow-shaped; arrow-head long and broad, with short lateral arms.

Holotype. [Yunnan] ♁, Chashan (1,400 m), Simao District, Pu’er City , 2018.II.25, S.Y. Huang leg. ( HUNAU).

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word caeruleus (blue) and the structural word antenna, referring to its prominent blue basal antenna.

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

Remarks. This new species is endemic to China and occurs in February.

A DNA barcode of N. caeruliantenna sp. nov. is generated. This sequence is closest to the three N. decisella specimens (pairwise distances: 0.051 –0.057).