Nosphistica Meyrick, 1911

Yu, Shuai & Wang, Shuxia, 2019, Taxonomic study of the genus Nosphistica Meyrick, 1911 (Lepidoptera Lecithoceridae) from China, with descriptions of seven new species, Zootaxa 4664 (4), pp. 497-517 : 498-499

Nosphistica Meyrick, 1911

Nosphistica Meyrick, 1911: 733 . Type species: N. erratica Meyrick, 1911 . TL: Sri Lanka (Maskeliya). Philoptila Meyrick, 1918: 111 . Type species: P. effrenata Meyrick, 1918 . TL: India (Kanara: Nagody).

Generic characters. Adult ( Fig. 2 ): Antenna as long as or longer than forewing, flagellum in male ciliate ventrally, becoming weak toward apex. Labial palpus with second segment thickened, third segment slender, strongly upturned. Forewing with well-developed discocellular stigma; hindwing with area between 3A and dorsum dark brown or blackish brown, often interrupted medially by a white marking. Venation: forewing with R 1 and R 2 free, R 3 stalked with R 4+5, R 5 usually stalked with R 4, or absent (as in N. erratica ), M 1 and M 2 present, M 3 usually stalked with CuA 1+2 ( Fig. 5a ), sometimes absent ( Fig. 5b ), CuA 1 and CuA 2 stalked; hindwing with Rs and M 1 stalked, M 2 present, or absent (as in N. effrenata ), M 3 and CuA 1 stalked, CuA 2 remote from M 3 +CuA 1 at base. Abdominal tergites with dense spiniform setae.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 3 ). Uncus represented by a sclerotized plate. Gnathos with lateral arms broadly banded, sometimes forming a basal plate by fused medially. Costal bar conspicuously free of valva basally. Juxta large, exceeding middle of tegumen posteriorly, weakly sclerotized or membranous distally, produced anteromedially; lateral process varied in shape and size.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 4 ). Abdominal sternite VIII usually concave medially on posterior margin. Apophyses anteriores shorter than apophyses posteriores. Corpus bursae elliptical or ovate; signum varied in number and shape.

Diagnosis. Nosphistica can be distinguished from the other genera of this family by the flagellum of the antenna only ciliate ventrally in the male, the area between 3A and dorsum of the hindwing dark brown or blackish brown; and the costal bar in the male genitalia conspicuously free of the valva basally.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Female genitalia of N. subrectangula sp. nov., paratype, slide No. YS17140. Scale=0.5 mm

FIGURE 5. Wing venation of Nosphistica species. a. N. grandiunca sp. nov., slide No. YS17136; b. N. paramecola, slide No. YS17108. Scales=2 mm

FIGURES 2‒3. Nosphistica subrectangula sp. nov. 2. adult, holotype, ♂; 3. male genitalia, paratype, slide No. LSR13160. Scales: 2=2mm, 3=0.5 mm