Promalactis albisquama Kim & Park, 2010

Wang, Shuxia, Liu, Chen & David, Lees, 2024, Partial revision of Promalactis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae), based on specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, Zootaxa 5536 (1), pp. 1-58 : 47

Promalactis albisquama Kim & Park, 2010

Promalactis albisquama Kim & Park , in Kim et al., 2010: 548. TL: Vietnam. TD: MGCL.

Promalactis semantris ( Meyrick, 1906) sensu Lvovsky, 1988: 120 ; Lvovsky, 1997: 762; Wang, Kendrick & Sterling, 2009: 43 ; Du et al., 2011: 63 . Misidentification.

Material examined. CHINA: 1♂, Tai Po Kau Oxford Far East Exp., Hong Kong , 20.VII.1981, slide No. NHMUK010316947 ; 1♂, Actinic Trap, Mid-levels , 150 m, IV.1982, leg. J Robinson, slide No. NHMUK010316951 ; 1♀, Actinic Trap, Mid-levels , 150 m, 3–21.X.1982, leg. Judith Robinson, slide No. NHMUK010316952 ; 1♂, Victoria Peak , 400 m, VI.1993, leg. A.C. Galsworthy, slide No. NHMUK010316953 ; Piphima [ India]: 1♂ 1♀, ASSAM Doherty, Naga Hills , 3000 m, VI.1889, leg. Walsingham, slide Nos. NHMUK010316950 ♂, NHMUK010317165 ♀; Thailand : 1♂, Hort. Res. Stn., Fang , 450 m, 24–26.VII.1989, leg. J.D. & D.J. Bradley & Angoon Lewvanich, slide No. NHMUK010316926 ; 1♀, km 18.5, Nan to Ban Giu Muang Road , Nan Prov., 320 m, 25.VII.1990, leg. I.J. Kitching & A.M. Cotton, slide No. NHMUK010317164 ; 1♂, km 8.5, Pua to Doi Phu Kha National Park Road, Nan Prov., 300 m, 29.VII.1990, leg. I.J. Kitching & A.M. Cotton, slide No. NHMUK010316924 ; 1♂, km 22 viewpoint on Hwy 12 (Lom Sak to Khon Kaen), Phetchabun, 620 m, 11.XI.1991, leg. I.J. Kitching & A.M. Cotton, slide No. NHMUK010316938 .

Redescription. Adult. Wing expanse 7.5−12.5 mm.

Head. Vertex shining white, frons yellow except deep orange laterally, occiput bronze. Labial palpus with basal and second segments light yellow on inner surface, basal segment ochreous brown outer surface, second segment orange on outer surface; third segment dark brown except white at base and apex, about 2/3 length of second. Antennal scape white; flagellum with basal two segments white, remaining flagellomeres white and black on dorsal surface, dark brown on ventral surface.

Thorax. Mesonotum and tegula bronze. Forewing orange to ochreous brown; white fascia from about costal 1/4 to about middle of dorsal margin, slightly broader anteriorly, edged with black scales; roughly ovate white spot beyond costal 2/3, circled with black scales except on anterior margin; pretornal deep gray spot or streak extending to end of costal spot, edged with black scales; apex with a large deep gray spot or with dense dark brown scales; cilia orange, deep gray along distal part of costal margin and dorsal margin. Hindwing and cilia gray.

Distribution. China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan), India, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam.

Remarks. Clarke (1963) dissected a male specimen of P. semantris (Meyrick) deposited in Natural History Museum, London, and designed it as a lectotype. Lvovsky (1997) identified the specimens collected from Vietnam as P. semantris , and described the female of this species for the first time. Kim et al. (2010) described P. albisquama based on one male and five female specimens from Vietnam. After having examined the specimens collected from different parts of Southern China and checked the lectotype, we found the adult of the lectotype of P. semantris has a white basal line, while P. semantris (Meyrick) sensu Lvovsky lacks it; and the male genitalia of P. semantris sensu Lvovsky are identical to those of P. albisquama . In addition, the apex of the forewing of P. semantris sensu Lvovsky is deep grey in the male, which is consistent with that of P. albisquama Kim. However , the apex of the forewing of P. albisquama is white in the female, and its genitalia are different from those of P. semantris sensu Lvovsky. Therefore , the female of P. albisquama belongs to a different species.

The description of some superficial characters of P. albisquama by Kim & Park (in Kim et al. 2010) are based on the female (not P. albisquama ), which does not agree with the true P. albisquama . Lvovsky and Wang et al. did not provide a description of its superficial characters since they treated it as P. semantris . Here we redescribed the adult of P. albisquama .

The name of P. albisquama was derived from the female adult (not P. albisquama ), referring to the forewing with white scales near tornus. However, there are no white scales near tornus on the forewing of P. albisquama .