Nemophora sinicella ( Walker, 1863 ) Kozlov, 2024

Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2024, Fairy moths of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg, 1798 (Lepidoptera: Adelidae) from Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, Zootaxa 5423 (1), pp. 1-66 : 18-19

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5423.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:622D5264-DBE2-463B-9A8C-AD1C77C90254
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10806122
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/55600359-4B45-FFF6-62C4-7C65FC6E4177
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Nemophora sinicella ( Walker, 1863 )
status	comb. nov.

Treatment

Nemophora sinicella ( Walker, 1863) View in CoL , comb. nov.

( Figs. 12, 13 View FIGURES 9–16 , 67 View FIGURES 63–88 , 93 View FIGURES 89–93 , 112 View FIGURES 111–113 )

Nemotois sinicella : Walker 1863: 505. Lectotype ♂ (here designated): China [Xiamen]; labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘ Lecto- │ type’; 8 mm circle with red border, print ‘Type’; 6 mm circle, black ink ‘China’, reverse side: ‘[18]45 │ 65 [Lay]’; 14 × 25 mm, wide black frame, black ink + print ‘ NEMOTOIS │ SINICELLA . Wkr. │ Cat. Lep. Het. BM. 28: 505 1863 │ TYPE ♂ descr.’; 4 × 34 mm, print ‘21. Nemotois sinicella .’; 8 × 20 mm, print ‘ LECTOTYPE ♂ │ Nemotois sinicella │ Walker, 1863 │ M. Kozlov design. 1999’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotypes. 3 ♂, labelled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘ Para- │ lecto- │ type’; 7 mm circle, black ink ‘China’, reverse side: ‘[18]45 │ 65 [Lay]’; 8 × 20 mm, print ‘ PARALECTOTYPE ♂ │ Nemotois sinicella │ Walker, 1863 │ M. Kozlov design. 1999’. The paralectotype with a head glued on a piece of paper bears additional label: 6 × 16 mm, print ‘Head associa- │ ted incorrectly. │ M. Kozlov 2005’. The paralectotype with metathorax and hind wings in gelatine capsule bears additional label: 8 × 13 mm, print ‘B. M. │ Genitalia slide │ No. 27836’ (all in NHM) [examined].

Nemotois sinicella : Meyrick 1912a: 6, 1912b: 8; Kozlov & Robinson 1996a: 42; Hua 2005: 2.

Nemotois chrysocharis View in CoL : Caradja 1938: 257, syn. nov. Holotype ♂: China , Fujian Province, Shaowu (27 o 21' N, 117 o 27' E); labelled: 9 × 18 mm, black frame, black ink ‘ Shao-wu │ Fukien │ 1.7[1937] [Klapperich leg.]’; 14 × 24 mm, black frame, black ink ‘ Nemotois │ chrysocharis View in CoL │ Car. │ Type. ’; 12 × 20 mm, red border, print + black ink ‘ ROMÄNIA [along the left margin] │ HOLOTYPE │ Nemotois │ chrysocharis View in CoL │ ♂ Car. ’ ( MINGA type collection no. 176.059) [examined] GoogleMaps .

Nemotois chrysocharis View in CoL : Popescu-Gorj 1992: 144; Hua 2005: 2.

Nemophora chrysocharis View in CoL : Liao et al. 2023: 75.

Other material. China. 1 ♂ 1 ♀, Fujian, Shaowu , 500 m, 19.vi.1937 (Klapperich) ; 1 ♂, ibid., 5.viii.1937 (all in MINGA) . Myanmar. 1 ♂, Shan Hills, Maymyo , 1100 m, 4.vi.1988 (Allen) ( NHM) . Thailand. 1 ♀, Chieng Mai Province, Huai Nam Dang , 1500–1700 m, 25.–27.x.1984 (Karsholdt, Lomholdt & Nielsen) ( ZMUC) .

Diagnosis. Nemophora sinicella is nearest to N. aglaospila ( Figs. 10, 11 View FIGURES 9–16 ), from which it differs by the dark coppery brown apical part of forewing, which is patterned with a couple of diffuse dark spots, and by the uniformly brown to bronze antenna. In male genitalia N. sinicella differs from N. aglaospila by the relatively narrow apical half of valva (about 0.3 × basal width) and by the long arms of the arrow head of juxta. Glossy golden spot at middle of costal margin occurs also in N. cleodoxa ( Figs. 17, 18 View FIGURES 17–24 ), from which N. sinicella differs by the presence of dark and light semicircular bands surrounding this spot.

Description. Male ( Fig. 12 View FIGURES 9–16 ). FWL 5.0–6.0 mm, WLR 0.36–0.40. Vertex medially with glossy golden scales, occipital margin with row of yellowish brown piliform scales; frons glossy golden. PLB 0.3 × vertical eye diameter (0.8 × length of scape), light yellowish brown. Proboscis light brown, base with yellow to brown scales. Eyes enlarged, but not touching each other; interocular index 0.9–1.0; occipital distance 0.2–0.3. Antenna 2.5–3.0 × FWL. Scape and base of flagellum glossy bronze, apical part of flagellum uniformly brown to bronze. Tegulae and thorax glossy golden. Forewing ( Fig. 67 View FIGURES 63–88 ) glossy golden in basal half to dark bronze in apical half; basal part with narrow dark brown longitudinal stripe at costal margin; this stripe almost reaches narrow transverse dark brown band at 0.15 × FWL. Although in some specimens this band is scattered by a few yellow scales near costa, these scales never form distinct yellow spot or band. Costal part of medial band wide (ca. 0.3 × FWL), with small glossy golden spot at costa; this spot is surrounded by semicircular dark brown line followed by bright yellow line placed between arms of Y-shaped dark coppery brown transverse band. In some specimens this glossy spot is dark bronze or even absent, being replaced by dark brown spot. Apical part of forewing with variable pattern of diffuse dark brown spots in discal zone and near outer margin. Fringe bronze. Hindwing light brown to bronze; costal area grey; fringe yellowish grey dorsally to brown around apex. Legs glossy silver to light brown; apices of tibiae and all tarsomeres dark brown. Epiphysis at 0.6, reaching apex of tibia. Abdomen dorsolaterally light brown, ventrally glossy silver.

Female ( Fig. 13 View FIGURES 9–16 ). FWL 5.2 mm, WLR 0.42. Antenna 1.1 × FWL. Distal margins of abdominal sternites dark bronze. Otherwise similar to male.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 93 View FIGURES 89–93 , 112 View FIGURES 111–113 ). Tegumen widely dome-shaped, with medial ridge. Socii elongate, 1.2 × diameter of phallus. Vinculum 2.4 × length of valva, V-shaped, with almost straight lateral margins and straight distal margin with minute medial indentation. Tips of valvae extend far beyond tip of tegumen. Basal parts of valvae (0.35 × valvar length) extended ventrally, forming semicircular protrusion (see from side); ventral valvar margin concave; dorsal valvar margin almost straight; distal half of valva very narrow, finger-like; tip of valva pointed. Valvae not fused basally. Anellus 0.25 × length of valva. Transtilla with short triangular medial process. Juxta 0.5 × length of phallus; arrow head narrow (WLR 0.45), with narrowly rounded tip and pointed lateral arms. Phallus 1.05 × length of vinculum, gently S-shaped, with two thin carinae articulated ventrally at 0.55 × length of phallus (counting from its base); base of phallus bell-shaped, tip pointed.

Distribution. Continental China ( Walker 1863), Myanmar ( Meyrick 1912a), Thailand (this study).

Comments. The English description and localities of N. sinicella in Walker (1863) appear under the name N. decisella ; the Latin diagnoses are correct ( Meyrick 1912a). Strangely, this species was not included in the list of Chinese fauna by Liao et al. (2023).

The previous record of N. sinicella from Myanmar ( Meyrick 1912a, as Burma) is likely based on one bad quality female specimen of N. ahenea misidentified as N. sinicella in the Meyrick’s collection (NHM). Nevertheless, recent findings (see above) confirm the occurrence of N. sinicella in Myanmar.