Nemophora alba Kozlov, 2020

Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2020, Three new species of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg (Lepidoptera, Adelidae) from Southeast Asia, Zootaxa 4767 (3), pp. 477-484 : 478

Nemophora alba Kozlov , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 5 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3BA9D28D-1BE6-4A11-B6D4-A95248FAE1D3

Holotype ♀: Myanmar, Mergui Archipelago, Tenasserim Island (12°34’N, 97°51’E); labelled: 8 mm circle with red margin, print ‘Holo- | type’; 7 × 14 mm, print + black ink ‘Mergui | TENASSERIM. | Doherty 1888. | No. 40855’; 8 × 10 mm, print ‘Walsingham | Collection | 1910-427’; 14 × 25 mm, black ink ‘Ucetia? | oriflamma | W. Typ ♀ ’, with red ink mark ‘MS’; 6 × 18 mm, print ‘ HOLOTYPE ♀ | Nemophora | alba Kozlov’. Paratype ♀, labelled: 8 mm circle with yellow margin, print ‘Para- | type’; 10 × 19 mm, black ink ‘Upper Burmah. | Hampson | 21.IX.’; 8 × 10 mm, print ‘Walsingham | Collection | 1910-427’; 6 × 18 mm, print ‘ PARATYPE ♀ | Nemophora | alba Kozlov’ (both in NHM).

Diagnosis. N. alba differs from all Nemophora species by white colour of the body, including head, thorax, abdomen, legs, and larger part of wings.

Etymology. From alba (Latin) —white.

Description. Female ( Figs. 1 , 5 ). FWL 5.4‒7.0 mm, WLR 0.32. Vertex and frons densely covered with long raised white scales. PLB 2 × vertical eye diameter, white, ventrally with dense cover of raised piliform scales, vast majority of which are white and a few are brown. Proboscis light brown, base laterally with white scales. Antenna 0.9 × FWL. Basal 0.7 of flagellum densely covered by elongated semi-erect scales arising from the entire surface of each flagellomere and forming characteristic brush. Scape and proximal half of brush white, then colour of scales gradually changes and distal quarter of brush is almost entirely black. Distal part of flagellum brown. Tegula and thorax white. Forewing white; the pattern consists of three light cream fasciae in the basal 2/3 of the wing and of dark brown spots in the apical 1/3 of the wing. The first (proximal) cream fascia is almost indistinct; it has sinuous margins and reaches costa at 0.20 to 0.30 × FWL. The second fascia reaches costa at 0.37 to 0.47 × FWL; its oblique internal margin approaches dorsum very close to the external margin of the first fascia; external margin of the second fascia is W-shaped. The third fascia reaches costa at 0.57 to 0.70 × FWL, and is separated from the apical part of the forewing by very narrow white stripe. Costa at 0.15 × FWL with dark brown spot (0.25 × width of forewing) perpendicular to the wing margin; the margins of the first and the second creamy fasciae near costa are bordered by short (0.1‒0.2 × forewing width) dark brown lines. The third creamy fascia is bordered by sparse dark brown scales; within this fascia, dark brown scales form three or four compact spots. Apical part of forewing is densely scattered with dark brown and ochreous scales forming several diffuse spots along wing margin; small ochreous spots are located in gaps between large dark brown spots. Fringe bronze. Hindwing white, almost translucent, except for light bronze apical quarter; fringe brown apically and white along dorsum. Legs white; hind tibia with dense tuft of white piliform scales; apical parts of all tibiae and all tarsomeres brown. Epiphysis at 0.6, reaching tip of tibia. Abdomen white.

Male unknown.

Distribution. Myanmar.

Taxonomic affinities. Nemophora alba does not resemble any congeneric species in the details of forewing pattern. Nevertheless, light forewing colour and characteristic antennal brush suggest that this species might be related to the askoldella species-group, as defined by Kozlov (1995).

Comments. Walsingham labelled the holotype with manuscript species’ name but never published the descrip- tion of this species.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Adults of Nemophora spp. 1, N. alba sp. nov., female, holotype, from Tenasserim; 2, N. decoratella sp. nov., male, holotype, from Sulawesi; 3, N. bruneiella sp. nov., male, holotype, from Brunei; 4, N. bruneiella sp. nov., female, paratype, from Brunei. Scale: 2 mm.

FIGURES 5–7. Forewing pattern of Nemophora spp. 5, N. alba sp. nov.; 6, N. decoratella sp. nov.; 7, N. bruneiella sp. nov. Scale: 2 mm.