Phyllocnistis saepta Kirichenko, Ohshima & Huang

Kirichenko, Natalia, Triberti, Paolo, Kobayashi, Shigeki, Hirowatari, Toshiya, Doorenweerd, Camiel, Ohshima, Issei, Huang, Guo-Hua, Wang, Min, Magnoux, Emmanuelle & Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos, 2018, Systematics of Phyllocnistis leaf-mining moths (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) feeding on dogwood (Cornus spp.) in Northeast Asia, with the description of three new species, ZooKeys 736, pp. 79-118 : 98-99

Phyllocnistis saepta Kirichenko, Ohshima & Huang sp. n. Figs 8, 9F, 15D, E

Etymology.

The name saepta is the past participle of the Latin verb saepio, that means "to block" and refers to the strigulae-shaped blotch present on the dorsum of the forewing.

Diagnosis.

Forewing lustrous white, lf well-defined, touching tf without interrupting it, a dorsal dark brown blotch, strigula-shaped, is present in the first third, while the inner margin of lf, apically, shows a hint of a dark line along the cell; male genitalia with a small number of ventral setae (14) and phallobase about twice the length of phallus.

P. saepta is distinguished from other Cornus -feeding species by the presence of a strigula-shaped blotch on the dorsum of the forewing. It also differs from P. cornella by a long lf, touching tf, from P. verae by tf not interrupted and from P. indistincta by well-defined lf.

Type material.

Holotype (♂): China, Yunnan, Weixi County, Diqing city, 27.16N, 99.26E, 2800 m, ex Cornus macrophylla , 19.VII.2016 (larva), 22.VII.2016 em., TRB4256, No. IsO-793, G.H. Huang & M. Wang leg. (deposited in HAU).

Additional material examined.

Larva (1) and pupa (1): China, Yunnan, Weixi County, Diqing city, Cornus macrophylla , 18.VII.2016 col., Nos IsO-790 and IsO-790-bis (deposited in HAU).

Description of adult.

(Fig. 9F). Wing span 5.0 mm.

Head. Like P. indistincta .

Thorax. Tegulae and thorax white, legs not present. Forewing lustrous white, subapical area orange with a small apical black spot; lf well-defined, touching tf without interrupting it. A dorsal dark brown blotch, strigula-shaped, is present in the first third, while the inner margin of lf, apically, shows a hint of a dark line along the cell (Fig. 9G). Cilia white, tf not interrupted in the middle, three dark brown costal and four apical strigulae. Hindwing lustrous white.

Abdomen. Not studied.

Male genitalia (Fig. 15D, E). Tegumen elongate, membranous, ventro-basally setose with 14 setae of varying length. Valva slender, broaded 1/4 to apex, transtilla arising from base of valva as an elongate, acute process; vinculum U-shaped; phallus slender, weakly sclerotised, externally finely wrinkled, about half the phallobase, cornuti absent.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Pupa.

Not studied.

Biology.

(Fig. 8). The mine is similar to that of other Phyllocnistis species, on lower or upper side of the host leaf, often following secondary veins, crossing them closer to the leaf margin (Fig. 8B, C, E). Pupation takes place in the mine near leaf margin (Fig. 8D, F).

Phenology.

In 2016, in China (Yunnan) late instar larvae were found at the end of July.

Ecology and host plants.

(Fig. 8A). In China, the moth inhabits a forested area. Host plant is C. macrophylla .

Distribution.

Only one location is known so far in China - Yunnan Province, Weixi.