Orthotrichia flabella Wells

Wells, Alice, 2012, New synonyms in the Australian micro-caddisfly fauna (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae), Zootaxa 3177, pp. 66-68 : 67

Orthotrichia flabella Wells

Orthotrichia flabella Wells, 1983: 637

Orthotrichia lapka Olah & Johanson, 2010: 47 , syn. nov.

Orthotrichia flabella is a species of the highly distinctive Orthotrichia aberrans -group, a group of species with very characteristic male genitalia and a parasitoid late larval stage ( Wells 1992, 2005). Two Australian species have a broad ventral lobe on abdominal segment VIII and, while O. pectinella Wells, 1983 , has few stout black setae apically on this structure, O. flabella Wells, 1983 , has a dense, very closely appressed brush of stout black setae. Oláh and Johanson described O. lapka as having, on sternum VIII “… a stout apico-mesal lobe with black flattened apex.” However, observed closely, the 'black flattened apex' can be resolved into a brush of stout black setae, tightly pressed to one another, exactly as in O. flabella . The other apparent differences cited by Oláh and Johanson also are probably a consequence of poor resolution of structures.

In conclusion, close examination of the holotypes of four of five species described recently from Australia reveals that they are conspecific with earlier described Australian species. The bases for the following new synonyms are given: Helleythira hiana Olah & Johanson, 2010, junior to Xuthotrichia simplex Mosely, 1934 (= Hellyethira simplex (Mosely, 1934)) ; Oxyethira elora Olah & Johanson, 2010 , junior to Trichoglene columba Neboiss, 1977 (= Oxyethira columba (Neboiss, 1977)) ; Orthotrichia capa Olah & Johanson, 2010 , junior to O. zonata Neboiss, 1977 ; and O. lapka Olah & Johanson, 2010 , junior to O. flabella Wells, 1983 .