Epicephala mirivalvata Li, Wang & Zhang

Zhang, Jing, Hu, Bingbing, Wang, Shuxia & Li, Houhun, 2012, Six new species of Epicephala Meyrick, 1880 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) associated with Phyllanthaceae plants, Zootaxa 3275, pp. 43-54 : 48-49

Epicephala mirivalvata Li, Wang & Zhang , sp. nov.

( Figs. 3 , 9 , 15, 21)

Type material. CHINA: Hainan Province: Holotype 3, Yingge Mountain Nature Reserves (19°02ʹN, 109°50ʹE), 4.ix.2010, leg. Bingbing Hu, genitalia slide No. ZJ10062. Paratypes: 3 ƤƤ, 3–4.ix.2010, leg. Bingbing Hu, 1 Ƥ, 5.vi.2010, leg. Jing Zhang, same locality as holotype; 1 3, Mt. Limu (19°10ʹN, 109°46ʹE), 700 m, 15.iv.2008, leg. Binbin Hu & Haiyan Bai (by light trap); Fujian Province: 1 3, Mt. Tianzhu (24°36ʹN, 117°59ʹE), Xiamen, 23.viii.2010, leg. Jing Zhang.

Description. Adult ( Fig. 3 ). Forewing expanse 10.0−12.0 mm. Head snow-white. Labial palpus white, pale brown on outer surface of second segment. Antenna yellowish brown on ventral surface, brown with narrow yellowish-brown rings on dorsal surface. Thorax snow-white; tegula grayish brown. Forewing brown; costal margin with three parallel narrow white striae obliquely extending outward from basal 2/5, 2/3 and 3/4 respectively: first stria reaching 1/4 across wing, second long and slender, curved, discontinuous to middle across wing, third narrowest, reaching 1/4 across wing; dorsal margin with a broad white or creamy band, about 1/3 as broad as wing at base, distinctly narrowed to end of fold, a broadest and longest white stria from before end of fold obliquely extending outward to middle cross wing, joining with second costal stria, second thinner white stria from beyond first reaching 1/4 across wing, arched, joining third costal stria; a broad silvery fascia with metallic reflection from costal 6/7 to dorsum, arched outward medially; distal 1/8 yellowish brown, with a central black dot, with distinct elongate triangular white streaks along costa and dorsum; cilia white from distal part of costal margin along termen to tornus except blackish brown at base and apex, gray or deep gray along dorsal margin. Hindwing deep gray; cilia concolorous.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 9 ). Tegumen broad ligulate. Costa with basal half narrow and parallel dorsoventrally, distal half broadened gradually to rounded apex; apex obliquely rounded; with dense long setae near apical and ventral margins; transtilla elongate triangular, acute at apex. Sacculus shorter than costa, irregularly triangular, about 2.5 times as wide as costa at base, gradually narrowing towards acute apex; dorsal margin conspicuously arched; ventral margin nearly straight, with a broad rectangular plate along basal 2/5, its outer margin incised; distal 1/3 scattered with teeth, dentate ventrally. Vinculum U-shaped, blunt posteriorly; saccus slender, straight, as long as vinculum, acute at apex. Phallus broad and straight, longer than costa; cornuti consisting of six small spines at distal 1/3, a dorsoapical tooth and a large ventroapical thorn; in some individuals, phallus with some indistinct teeth and a large ventroapical thorn.

Female genitalia (Figs. 15, 21). Ovipositor somewhat broad, apically blunt, slightly concave at middle on posterior margin. Apophysis posterioris thicker, about 1.5 times length of apophysis anterioris. Eighth tergite trapezoidal. Ostium bursae subrounded. Lammella postvaginalis concave at middle on posterior margin, forming two rounded posterior processes; lamella antevaginalis broadly U-shaped, its lateral lobes narrowed backward to a slender and curved band. Antrum heavily sclerotized, as long as eighth tergite, with a large subtriangular process at middle on right side, anterior half arched outward on left side. Ductus bursae strong and curved, longer than antrum, basal 3/4 sclerotized and wrinkled, distal 1/4 membranous; ductus seminalis slenderer than ductus bursae. Corpus bursae small, oval, not distinctively separated from ductus bursae; with two wrinkled signa narrowly bandshaped, about half as long as corpus bursae, overlapped as one sometimes.

Diagnosis. This species is similar to E. lativalvaris sp. nov. in appearance, but can be separated from the latter by the forewing dorsally with a distinct broad white band, and the sacculus not very broad but quite differently shaped in the male genitalia; and the ostium bursae anteriorly not bearing a semicircular sac and the longer antrum in the female genitalia.

Host plants. Phyllanthaceae : Breynia fruticosa (Linn.) and Breynia rostrata Merr.

Distribution. China (Fujian, Hainan).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin prefix miri -, meaning bizarre, and the word valvatus, meaning valvular, in reference to the peculiar sacculus.

13–18. Female genitalia of Epicephala spp. 13, E. lanceolaria sp. nov., paratype, slide No. HBB10020; 14, E. lativalvaris sp. nov., paratype, slide No. BHY08254; 15, E. mirivalvata sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ10054; 16, E. vitisidaea sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ10068; 17, E. bipollenella sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ11013; 18, E. eriocarpa sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ11037.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Adults of Epicephala spp. 1, E. lanceolaria sp. nov., paratype 3; 2, E. lativalvaris sp. nov., paratype 3; 3, E. mirivalvata sp. nov., paratype Ƥ; 4, E. vitisidaea sp. nov., paratype Ƥ; 5, E. bipollenella sp. nov., paratype Ƥ; 6, E. eriocarpa sp. nov., paratype Ƥ.

FIGURES 7 – 12. Male genitalia of Epicephala spp. 7, E. lanceolaria sp. nov., paratype, slide No. BHY 08332; 8, E. lativalvaris sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ 10007; 9, E. mirivalvata sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ 10080; 10, E. vitisidaea sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ 10041; 11, E. bipollenella sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ 10056; 12, E. eriocarpa sp. nov., paratype, slide No. ZJ 11038.