Swammerdamia villiersi Gibeaux, 1984

Agassiz, David J. L., 2019, The Yponomeutidae of the Afrotropical region (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea), Zootaxa 4600 (1), pp. 1-69 : 37

45. Swammerdamia villiersi Gibeaux, 1984

Swammerdamia villiersi Gibeaux, 1984: 83

Type locality: Madagascar: Anjavidilava .

Description of adult ( Plate 6 ). (translated from the original with adaptation): Wingspan: 11–14 mm. White labial palpi, with dark brown scales externally, porrect. Frons creamy white, framed laterally with brownish. Vertex and antennal scape white with brown-tipped scales, the vertex is bristly. Antenna, four-fifths length of forewing, glossy violet brown, finely ringed with yellowish. Underside of antenna clearly paler. Thorax and tegula white mixed with light brown scales, slightly shiny. Abdomen bright beige above. Beneath the abdomen is the same colour, but with a suffusion of brown scales, the first segments bear, in addition, dark-tipped brown scales. Thorax whitish beneath. Prothoracic feet very strongly brownish externally, slightly brownish internally. Brownish meso- and meta-thoracic legs with tibial spines and the anterior part of each tarsomer ringed diffuse brown. Forewing with white ground colour suffused with light brown scales. To this suffusion are superimposed small imprecise brown spots irregularly distributed on the surface of the wing, two of these larger spots are supported and distalised distally on the median area. Apex tinted with pale orange. Termen and fringes dark brown at apex, then greyish white. Uniform silver-grey hindwing. Fringes the same, but paler. Underside of forewing of a uniform grey-brown with apex slightly orange. Margin and fringes as upperside. Underside of hindwings as upperside, maybe a little darker.

Male genitalia ( Plate 16 ). Uncus slightly concave, socius long and strong, valva with slight indentation of costa before apex, aedeagus straight and simple, a slender cornutus.

Female genitalia ( Plate 27 ). Lamella postvaginalis lobes widely separated, ostium small, ductus bursae long and scobinate, corpus bursae with a signum in the form of sclerotised ridge.

Diagnosis. The strong line around the termen of the forewings distinguishes this species from others in the genus.

Biology. Not known, adults taken in January, April and December.

Distribution. Madagascar.

Type material. Syntypes in MNHNP; not examined .

Figures

PLATE 6. The codes X1 to X6 refer to presently undescribed species, and are used to identify the specimens, and are also used in the museums where they are deposited.

PLATE 16.

PLATE 27.