Phthorarcha primigena ( Staudinger, 1895 )

Kostjuk, Igor, Mironov, Vladimir G. & Viidalepp, Jaan, 2020, Review of the Central Asian species of Phthorarcha Meyrick (Geometridae Alsophilinae) with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4861 (2), pp. 232-240 : 235-236

Phthorarcha primigena ( Staudinger, 1895)

Anisopteryx primigena Staudinger, 1895: 291 ; Staudinger in Staudinger & Rebel, 1901: 334; Phthorarcha primigena Stauding- er: Prout, 1910: 18, pl. 2; 1912: 3, pl. 1b; Inoue, 1944: 40–41. Degtjareva, 1973: 46 “ Phthorarcha sp.n. ”; Viidalepp, 1986: 62; 1987: 72; 1988: 30; Leraut, 2009: 39, 250.

Material. Lectotype, male (hereby designated in order to stabilize nomenclature) pinned, labelled [ Uzbekistan] “Prov. Samarkand Hbhr.81” (brown label, handwritten), “Origin” (pink label), “ Primigena Stgr. ” (white label, Staudingr’s handwritten), “ex coll. Staudinger 1/11”, “Genit. pr. 324 I. Kostjuk ” (in coll. Staudinger / MNHU) . Paralectotypes, 2♂, labelled: brown paper circles, “Origin” (pink label), “Samarkand” (white label), “ex coll. Staudinger 3/11, 6/11” (coll. Staudinger / MNHU) ; 5♀, labelled: brown paper circles, “Origin” (pink label), “Samarkand” (white label), “ex coll. Staudinger 7/11, 8/11, 9/11, 10/11, 11/11”, “Gen. pr. 577, 578 I. Kostjuk ” (coll. Staudinger / MNHU) ; 2♂ 2♀, labelled: “Asia centr. Samarkand Haberhauer 11./88.” (white label), “Cotype primigena Stgr. ” (pink label) (coll. Püngeler / MNHU) .

Additional material: 1♂, “Samarkand” , 1♀, “Margelan” , 1♂, Sultan Hasrud Range; 1♂, [ Kazakhstan], Sjuga- tinskije gory [Sogety Mts.], 40 km from Chilik , on snow, 16.XII 1943, Zverev [leg.] ; 1♂, Kungei Ala–Too foothills ( ZISP) ; 1♂ 1♀, “ primigena, Turkestan ” (coll. Daub, SMNK) .

Literature data. V. I. Degtjareva (1973) has studied dendrophilous butterflies and moths in Tajikistan, there is a Phthorarcha species among them. We tentatively associate here Degtjareva’s bioecological data concerning a late-season-flying Phthorarcha species with P. primigena . The specimens reared by Degtjareva are not found in the collections. Nazymbetova (2016) listed P. primigena for the fauna of Tian Shan referring to Viidalepp (1988).

Diagnosis: Phthorarcha primigena differing from similar Alsophila species in the absence of hind tibia midspurs. P. primigena and P. chaoticaria bearing small triangular basal dorsal process of the valva which is lacking in the other species: P. haberhaueri , sp. n. and P. ishkovi Viidalepp. P. primigena differs from P. chaoticaria by the much stouter, evenly curved process from the middle of the valve dorsum, from P haberhaueri and P. ishkovi in thicker and longer aedeagus and wider saccus. The length of antennal bristle tufts is striking.

Description: Male. Wingspan 31–41 mm ( Figs 1–3 ). Antennae serrate ventrally with long lateral tufts of bristles (which are longer than three antennal segments together: Fig. 20 ). Forewing thinly scaled, suffused dull grey, the postmedial fascia dissipated into a straight row of triangular, grey vein-spots which are edged distally by a pale grey fascia. Hindwing well rounded, discal spot weakly marked with light grey or without a discal spot, light grey with veins slightly darker, the fringe very long. Male genitalia: Valva with large, curved dorsal process from near the basal dorsal angle, the saccular end projecting triangular, dorsally straight, not curved dorsal ( Fig. 16 ). Females grey with antennae filiform, length up to 1 mm. Leraut (2009) presented a sketch of female genitalia characterised by a long, tubular, furrowed ostium and short apophyses anteriores (1/3 length of apophyses posteriores); bursa copulatrix small and without a signum. Our slide ( Fig. 25 ) does not differ from the figure by Leraut.

Phenology. The specimens with collecting data were collected in December. The moths emerged in the late autumn in the forest zone of the Ghissar Mts (at 1000–2000 m elevation) (Degtjareva 1973).

Biology. The species is polyphagous in the Ghissar mountains, raised up on leaves of Malus (2 spp.), Rosa (4 spp.), Cotoneaster (7 spp.), Crataegus (2 spp.), Amygdalus (2 spp.), Pyrus (2 spp.), Cerasus (2 spp.), Sorbus , Juglans , Fraxinus , Quercus, Robinia and Lonicera (2 spp.) (Degtjareva 1973).

Degtjareva (1973) also listed parasitoids of Phthorarcha : Apanteles (2 spp.) and Angitia sp. ( Ichneumonidae ).

Distribution. Hissaro-Alai mountain chains and northeastern Tian Shan. See Fig. 27 .

Remark. Staudinger (1895) and Prout (1910, 1912) published pictures of P. primigena , with roundish, very weakly marked hindwings, with a straight postmedial fascia of the forewing, and also referred to long bristles on the male antennae.

Figures

FIGURE 27. Distribution map of Middle Asian species of Phthorarcha Meyrick.

FIGURES 1–15. Phthorarcha moths of Central Asia: 1–12, males, 13–15, females. 1, P. primigena, Lectotype, Prov. Samarkand; 2, P. primigena, Paralectotype, [Prov. Samarkand]; 3, P. primigena, Paralectotype, [Prov. Samarkand]; 4, Phthorarcha haberhaueri, sp. n., Holotype, [Prov. Samarkand]; 5, Phthorarcha haberhaueri, sp. n., Paratype, [Prov. Samarkand]; 6, Phthorarcha haberhaueri, sp. n., Paratype [Prov. Samarkand]; 7, P. ishkovi, Holotype, Novonikolajevka; 8, P. ishkovi, Paratype, Novonikolajevka; 9, P. ishkovi, Alma–Ata; 10, P. ishkovi, Chichkan; 11, P. ishkovi, Sosnovka; 12, P. chaoticaria, Holotype, Nian Schian; 13, P. primigena, Paralectotype, [Prov. Samarkand]; 14, P. primigena, Paralectotype, [Prov. Samarkand]; 15, P. ishkovi, Novonikolajevka. Scale bar 10 mm.

FIGURES 20–24. Male antennae. 20, P. primigena; 21, P. haberhaueri; 22, P. ishkovi; 23, Alsophiloides acroama; 24, Chimaphila zabolne

FIGURES 16–19. Male genitalia of some Phthorarcha species: 14, P. primigena, Lectotype, Prov. Samarkand (Gen. pr. 324); 15, P. haberhaueri, sp. n., Holotype, [Prov. Samarkand] (Gen. pr. 323); 16, P. ishkovi, Novonikolajevka (Gen. pr. 445); 17, P. chaoticaria, Holotype, “Nian Schian” (photo of gen.pr. from E. Beljaev)

FIGURES 25–26. Female genitalia. 25, P. primigena, Paralectotype, [Prov. Samarkand] (Gen. pr. 577); 26, P. ishkovi, Novonikolajevka (Gen. pr. 576)