Niveas kone Rota

Rota, Jadranka & Miller, Scott E., 2013, A new genus of metalmark moths (Lepidoptera, Choreutidae) with Afrotropical and Australasian distribution, ZooKeys 355, pp. 29-47 : 33-35

Niveas kone Rota sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 5, 7, 8

Material examined.

See Table 1.

Material deposited.

The holotype and most paratypes will be retained at USNM, with paratypes distributed to PNG National Agriculture Research Institute (Port Moresby), BMNH, Bishop Museum, Naturalis (Leiden), and CSIRO (Canberra).

Distribution.

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.

Diagnosis.

Niveas kone can be separated from all other known choreutids based on its wing pattern (Fig. 1). Superficially, it is similar to a few species of Brenthia Clemens, 1860 and Litobrenthia Diakonoff, 1978 owing to its background color, but it lacks iridescent spots along forewing termen, which are always present in those two genera. Both male and female genitalia are very distinct from those of other choreutids (Figs 7, 8).

Description.

Head. Fig. 2. Wings. Fore- and hindwing with brown background color, speckled with white-tipped scales in an irregular pattern; a distinct black band along termen of both wings within which are more or less equidistant white spots (Fig. 1). Male genitalia. As for the genus (Fig. 7). Female genitalia. Corpus bursae split into two sacs; one sac with a V-shaped signum, the other with two round signa (Fig. 8). Immature stages. Fig. 12. See a brief note in text.

Host plants.

Ficus botryocarpa Miq., Ficus nodosa Teijsm. & Binn., Ficus phaeosyce K. Schum. & Lauterb., Ficus pungens Reinw. ex Blume, Ficus variegata Blume, and Ficus wassa Roxb. ( Moraceae ).

Etymology.

The species is named after the Finnish Kone Foundation (Koneen Säätiö) in appreciation of their funding of this work. The name is a noun in apposition.