Cataclysta lemnata ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Agassiz, David J. L., 2012, The Acentropinae (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae) of Africa, Zootaxa 3494, pp. 1-73 : 24

Cataclysta lemnata ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Phalaena Geometra lemnata Linnaeus, 1758: 529 .

Phalaena Tortrix albana O.F. Müller, 1764

Phalaena gemmata Hufnagel, 1767

Phalaena Tinea bordella Goeze, 1783: 162

Tinea marginatella Fourcroy, 1785: 322

Phalaena uliginata Fabricius, 1794: 214

Type locality: Berlin.

Described by Speidel (1984), Goater (1986) and Speidel (2005).

Imago (Figs. 28, 29): Sexually dimorphic. ♂ wingspan 18–19mm, Head and thorax white. Forewing white; costa, discal spot and a series of terminal spots fuscous, Hindwing white; a scattering of pale fuscous scales and a discal spot; five conjoined black terminal eyespots, each bearing a silver dot. ♀ wingspan 22–24mm, Head and thorax pale fuscous. Forewing pale fuscous with obscure markings as ♂. Hindwing as male with an irregular fuscous median fascia.

Male genitalia (Fig. 98): uncus long and pointed; gnathos slender; valva sides parallel, termen blunt, with process along costa and small pointed process on dorsum at 1/3; aedeagus with clusters of spines.

Female genitalia (Fig. 152): ostium wide, ostial chamber cylindrical, slightly scobinate; ductus ridged; corpus bursae short and membraneous.

Tympanal organs: Venulae almost parallel and straight in female, tapered in male.

Diagnosis: Distinguished from other species with terminal eyespots on the hindwing by the predominantly white coloration of the male, and by the very distinctive genitalia of both sexes.

Biology: Larva in a case on Lemna spp. etc.

Distribution: A West Palaearctic species, which has been recorded from Morocco ( Rungs, 1946).

Material examined: I have not seen any African specimens of this species.