Epermenia senaciae, Bippus, 2016

Bippus, Maik, 2016, New or poorly known Microlepidoptera from the Mascarenes (Lepidoptera: Autostichidae, Bedellidae, Batrachedridae, Carposinidae, Epermeniidae, Gelechiidae, Tineidae, Tortricidae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 66 (2), pp. 347-370 : 349-350

Epermenia senaciae spec. nov.

Description (plate 3: fig. 13; plate 4: figs 14–16): Wingspan: 9–11 mm (most specimen have a wingspan of 9.0–9.5 mm, only one measures 11 mm).

Antennae are filiform, brownish-grey, reaching 2/3 of forewing length. Base of antennae beige-ochreous, broadend. Head and shoulders are beige-ochreous sprinkled with a few brownish scales.

Palpi are upturned, beige-ochreous with some darker scales on the external side, terminal joint darker sprinkled with brown-blackish.

Thorax and abdomen greyish-brown, the male has laterally on the first segment of the abdomen two abdominal pockets with hair brushes. Legs: femur ochreous-brown, tibia and tarsi are ochreous, ringed blackish.

Forewings are brownish with irregular clearer ochreousbeige and darker-brownish fields, along costa up to 2/3 and along dorsum sprinkled irregularly with a few blackish-brownish scales. There are three small blackish marks in the middle of the wings in cell, the first near base, the second at half, and the third at 3/4. A larger blackish field in the apical fifth and along the base of dorsum of the forewing. Cilia are greyish, blackish at tornus, with three to four tuffs of blackish scales, one larger at 1/3 and 2–3 smaller, sometimes fused, between 1/2 and 3/4 of forewing consisting at some specimen only of 3–7 scales. Hindwings are brownish-grey.

Male genitalia (plate 5: figs 19a–19d): Uncus and tegumen (fig. 19c) rather normal for Epermenia , margin of tegumen sclerotized, a small sclerotization between tegumen and uncus; valva (fig. 19a) with a broad, short transtilla; ampulla nearly straight with an rounded tip, sclerotized, continuing in the cucullus. Dorsal edge of sacculus with a sclerotized margin. Aedeagus (fig. 19d) same length as valvae, with cornuti, rather straight with the tip moderately curved.

Female genitalia (plate 5: figs 20a–20c): posterior apophyses forked (fig. 20b), area around ostium only weakly marked, short ductus bursae, elongated corpus

bursae with an elongated signa (fig. 20a), pointed at both ends with a short digitate process at about 2/3.

Etymology: Named after its hostplant: Pittosporum senacia PUTT.

Hostplant (fig. 18): all specimens were bred ex-larvae from fruits of Pittosporum senacia Putt. (Pittosporaceae) , collected in La Réunion, La Possession, Ravine à Malheur, alt. 550 m, 20°55'32"S / 55°22'46"E.

Biology (plate 4: figs 17a–18): The larvae feed inside of the fruits of its hostplant. The mature larvae (fig. 17a) partly quit the fruit for pupation though many pupated inside the ripening fruits (fig. 17b).

About 1/3 of the eclosed adults were pretty worn but fully functional. Five specimens had almost no scales on the wings and abdomen. I believe that those specimens might have pupated inside the fruits and might have lost their scales in dried fruits or on eclosure.

There seems to be more than one generation per fructification period. I collected some 20 fruits in early July from which one specimen eclosed (09-vii-2015). Later, at around mid-July I collected the remaining fruits of the same bush (estimated 120-150 berries) from which another 55 specimens were bred between 07-viii and 23-viii-2015. The following year, in 2016, the same plant carried only a few shrinkled berries (approx. 15) from which I bred three supplementary specimens (06-ix-2016).

Holotype: male, 07-viii-2015, e.l. Pittosporum senacia , numbered RE- 2016 in SDEI - Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut , Müncheberg, Germany.

Paratypes: 17 specimens, both sexes dissected, in SDEI, Müncheberg , Germany :

15 specimens, both sexes, in Naturalis Biodiversity Center , Leiden, Netherlands ;

Dates of paratypes: 1 specimen: 09-vii-2015, all remaining specimens between 07 and 23-viii-2015.

Parasites: one specimen was parasited by a Braconidae : Bracon spec. (identification: Pascal Rousse, France).