Perittia mucronata (Parenti)

Kaila, Lauri, 2009, Notes on the genus Perittia of the West Palaearctic region with descriptions of three new species (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae), Zootaxa 2230, pp. 16-28 : 17

Perittia mucronata (Parenti)

( Figs. 1, 2 12 , 22 )

Mendesia mucronata Parenti, 2001: 250

Perittia mucronata ( Parenti, 2001) : Kaila 2004b.

Material studied. Turkey: Aksehir 30 km SW Sultan Daglari, 1200 m, 6.V. 1996, 1 3, K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen leg.; 1200-1500 m, 6.-7.V. 1996, 2 3, 1 Ƥ, K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen leg. (3 L. Kaila prep. 2482, Ƥ L. Kaila prep. 3915), Coll. Junnilainen, Nupponen, MZH.

Description. Female: ( Fig.2 ). Forewing length 6.5 mm. Length of labial palpus 1.2 times diameter of head; pale ochreous, darker ochreous below. Head, neck tuft, scape and pedicel of antenna ochreous white, flagellum grey. Tegula and thorax ochreous. Legs pale ochreous with darker ochreous tibia and tarsal segments. Forewing ground colour white, sparsely irrorated with ochreous scales forming oval spot at mid wing length at fold; fringe ochreous white. Underside of forewing pale ochreous grey, fringe scales white. Hindwing pale grey above and below, fringe scales pale ochreous. Female genitalia ( Fig. 22 ): Papillae anales fused dorsodistally with non-elastic membrane; sickle-shaped in lateral projection, basally with long setae; membranous sac between papillae anales distoventrally, armed with coarse teeth. Apophyses posteriores slightly longer than papillae anales, straight and stout; apophyses anteriores curved, stout, less than 0.5 length of apophyses posteriores. Ostium bursae broad wine glass-shaped, width 0.33 of distance between bases of apophyses anteriores; dorsal wall spinose; depth of antrum 0.33 of width of ostium bursae, abruptly tapered into colliculum. Length of colliculum equal to depth of antrum; ductus seminalis narrow and tubular, joined cephalically to colliculum. Ductus bursae membranous, straight and tubular, 2.5 times length of apophyses posteriores. Corpus bursae rounded, medially sparsely covered by coarse internal spines; signum in caudal 0.25 of corpus bursae, elongate, dentate.

Distribution. Greece, Iran, Turkey ( Parenti 2001).

Remarks. The female is newly described herein. External appearance and characteristics of male genitalia suggest that P. mucronata is a close relative of P. echiella (Joannis) . In female genitalia the membrane between ventral side of papillae anales is expanded as large sac with coarse teeth. A similarly armed sac occurs also in Perittia karadaghella , P. c a r l i n e l l a (Walsingham) and P. r a v i d a sp. n. In females of other Perittia species there is also an expanded sac, but it does not contain such coarse spines as in these species. Therefore, these characteristics do not unequivocally identify the closest relatives of P. mucronata .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. External appearance of Perittia species. Fig. 1. P. mucronata 3 (Turkey: Aksehir region); Fig. 2. P. mucronata ♀ (Turkey: Aksehir region); Fig. 3. P. huemeri holotype 3 (Croatia); Fig. 4. P. huemeri ♀ (Hungary); Fig. 5. P. junnilaisella sp. n., 3 holotype; Fig. 6. P. junnilaisella sp. n., 3 paratype (Turkey: Aksehir region).

FIGURES 7 – 11. External appearance of Perittia species. Fig. 7. P. karadaghella 3 (Turkey); Fig. 8. P. m i n i t a u re l l a sp. n. 3 holotype (Greece: Crete); Fig. 9. P. r a v i d a sp. n. 3 holotype; Fig. 10. P. ravida sp. n. 3 paratype (Turkey: Aksehir region); Fig. 11. P. biloba 3 (Uzbekistan: Jizzax region).

FIGURES 12 – 14. Male genitalia of Perittia species. Fig. 12. P. mucronata: Turkey: Aksehir region, L. Kaila prep. 2482; Fig. 13. P. huemeri holotype, ETO B. 21189; Fig. 14. P. huemeri (Turkey: Seydisehir region, L. Kaila prep. 4035).

FIGURES 22 - 24. Female genitalia of Perittia species. Fig. 22. P. mucronata (Turkey: Aksehir region, L. Kaila prep. 3915); Fig. 23. P. huemeri (Hungary, L. Kaila prep. 4348); Fig. 24. P. r a v i d a sp. n. (Greece: Kos, L. Kaila prep. 4544).