Coleophora halmodes Meyrick, 1911

Baldizzone, Giorgio & Van Der Wolf, Hugo W., 2020, On the taxonomy of Afrotropical Coleophoridae (IV). New or little known species from South Africa (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), Zootaxa 4816 (2), pp. 151-170 : 152-153

Coleophora halmodes Meyrick, 1911

( Fig. 1 )

Literature: Meyrick, 1911a: 235 (description); Baldizzone et al., 2006 (World Catalogue).

The species was described on the basis of two female specimens collected by Janse in Pretoria in October and February. In the TSMA only one specimen was found and is selected here as lectotype .

Original material examined: Lectotype ♀, here designated: ( GP Janse 6369) “Pretoria | 21.10.[19]06 | A.J. T. Janse”; “G | 6369”; “ Coleophora halmodes M. | Type No 863”, coll. TMSA.

Additional material examined: 1 ♀ ( GP Bldz 11959) “Pretoria | 29.2.1910 | C.J. Swierstra ”, coll. TMSA ; 1 ♀ ( GP Bldz 11957) “Marieps Mnt. | 7. Dec. 1925 | G. Vanson ”, coll. TMSA ; 1 ♂ ( GP Bldz 11992) “nr. Naboemspr. | 22.XII.1925 | A.J. T.Janse”, coll. TMSA ; 1 ♂ ( GP Vári 6448) “Rustenburg | 29.II.1949 | A. Capener ”, coll. TMSA ; 1 ♀ ( GP Bldz 11960) “Pretoria | 11.III.1949 | L. Vári leg.”, coll. TMSA ; 1 ♀ ( GP Vári 6299) “Pretoria | 2.III.1950 | L. Vári ”, coll. TMSA ; 1 ♂ “ Melmoth | Natal | AJTJ | 19.I.[19]16”, “ Coleophora halmodes Meyr. | 1/10 | E. Meyrick det. | in Meyrick Coll.”, Meyrick Coll. | B. M. 1938-290”, coll. NHMUK ; 1 ♂ ( GP BMNH 32609 ) “Transvaal |Janse | 4.10.[19]13”, “ Coleophora halmodes Meyr. | 2/10 | E. Meyrick det. | in Meyrick Coll. ”, Meyrick Coll. | B. M. 1938-290”, coll. NHMUK ; 1 ♀ ( GP BMNH 32613 ) “ Three Sisters | Transvaal | AJTJ | 19.3.[19]11”, “ Coleophora halmodes Meyr. | 6/10 | E. Meyrick det. | in Meyrick Coll.”, Meyrick Coll. | B. M. 1938-290”, coll. NHMUK ; 1 ♀ ( GP BMNH 32610 ) “Barberton | Transvaal | AJTJ | 26.12.[19]10”, “ Coleophora halmodes Meyr. | 8/10 | E. Meyrick det. | in Meyrick Coll.”, Meyrick Coll. | B. M. 1938-290”, coll. NHMUK ; 1 ♂ “ Umtali | Rhodesia | 7.I.[19]18 “, “ halmodes Meyr. ”; “ Coleophora halmodes Meyr. | 10/10 | E. Meyrick det. | in Meyrick Coll. ”, Meyrick Coll. | B. M. 1938-290”, coll. NHMUK ; 1 ♀ ( GP Bldz 11649) “ R.S.A. | Transvaal | Waterwa-Bowen | 11. Feb. 1995 | leg. HW vd Wolf”, coll. Bldz.

Diagnosis: Species with pale beige or dirty white coloration and forewings peppered with scattered dark scales and one brown dot at the end of the cell. The genitalia are unique among all known species: in the male the valvula is prolonged into a thick process fused with the base of the cucullus and extended beyond the apex of the latter, and the phallotheca has an enlarged ventral wall with a serrated distal margin which resembles a notched spoon; in the female the anterior part of the sterigma is strongly sclerotized in the proximal 2/3 and forms an enlarged plate with a medially notched caudal margin.

Original description: “Female, 10–12 mm. Head and thorax white, with a faint ochreous-grey central streak, shoulders suffused with ochreous-grey. Palpi whitish, externally suffused with grey. Antennae white, sometimes suffused with grey above. Abdomen whitish. Fore wings elongate-lanceolate, long-pointed, acute; white, somewhat sprinkled with fuscous; second discal stigma indicated by a small obscure darker dot; cilia ochreous-whitish, on costa whiter, round apex suffused basally with fuscous. Hind wings pale grey; cilia ochreous whitish.”

Male genitalia ( Figs. 11–14 ): Gnathos knob globular. Tegumen broad, medially constricted, pedunculus dilated on outer side. Transtilla arms rod-like. Valvula elongated outward with a narrow, sharp and sclerotized protuberance extended beyond apex of cucullus. Cucullus short and slender. Sacculus distal margin concave, ventral corner thickly sclerotized as a large rounded protuberance. Phallotheca short, conical, sclerotized only ventrally, distal edge serrated. Cornuti numerous and small, gathered in elongate formation wider in anterior half.

Remark: As a consequence of the preparation of the genitalia and its compression, the shape of the phallotheca looks like a notched spoon, but observations made during the dissection revealed the conical-tubular shape described above.

Female genitalia ( Figs 15–17 ): Papillae anales oval. Apophyses posteriores about twice that of apophyses anteriores. Sterigma large, trapezoidal, very sclerotized and finely corrugated in proximal part, which is about 2/3 of sterigma. Ostium bursae indistinct, oval. Colliculum short, tubular, transparent. Ductus bursae short with bubbleshaped spinulate expansion with thicker and longer spinules around perimeter. Corpus bursae an elongated sac, signum leaf-shaped with thin and pointed peduncle and triangular expanded lamina.

Abdominal structures ( Fig. 18 ): Anterior lateral struts about 3 times longer than posterior struts. Transverse strut slender, slightly arched in middle. Tergal disk (3 rd tergite) about two times longer than wide, with 30–35 conical spines.

Bionomy: Unknown. The specimens studied were collected from October to March.

Distribution: Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Adults of Coleophora spp. 1, C. halmodes Meyrick - ♂ “Umtali | Rhodesia | 7.I.[19]18” (photo: Alessandro Giusti, © NHMUK). 2, C. stenoptera Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov., holotype ♂. 3, C. swaziella Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov., holotype ♂. 4, C. armata Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov., holotype ♂. 5, C. suavis Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov., holotype ♂. 6, C. venusta Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov., holotype ♂.

FIGURES 11–14. Male genitalia of C. halmodes Meyrik. 11, GP BMNH 32609 “Transvaal | Janse | 4.10.[19]13”. 12, enlarged detail of cornuti. 13, enlarged detail of valva and phallotheca. 14, same detail, GP Bldz 11992 “nr. Naboemspr. | 22.XII.1925 | A.J.T. Janse”.

FIGURES 15–18. Female genitalia of C. halmodes Meyrik. 15, GP Janse 6369 [rearranged by Baldizzone, 1991], lectotype. 16, GP Bldz 11959 “Pretoria | 29.2.1910 | C.J. Swierstra”, enlarged detail of sterigma and spinose part of ductus bursae. 17, GP Bldz 11957 “Marieps Mnt. | 7. Dec. 1925 | G. Vanson”, same detail. 18, GP Bldz 11649 “R.S.A. | Transvaal | Waterwa-Bowen | 11. Feb. 1995 | leg. HW vd Wolf”, abdominal segments 1–5.