Delorhachis wetzelae subsp. shambaa Giusti, Taberer, Fiebig, and Laszlo 2023, ssp. nov.
Creators: name: Taberer, Tabitha R.
name: Fiebig, Ralf
name: Giusti, Alessandro
name: László, Gyula M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Limacodidae
Delorhachis
Delorhachis wetzelae
Delorhachis wetzelae shambaa giusti, taberer, fiebig, and lászló

description: Delorhachis wetzelae shambaa Giusti, Taberer, Fiebig, and László ssp. nov.
(Figures 31–33, 81, 112, 146)
Holotype. Male, ′ TANZANIA: | Amani | Malaria Institute | G. Pringle coll. | BM 1966–281̍ || ′Mal Inst Amani̍ | handwritten ′P.1199 1/63̍ || ′ G.Pringle Coll. | B.M.1966–281̍ || ′SLIDE | NHMUK010317397 ̍ || QR code label with unique ID NHMUK 014200534 (NHMUK).
Paratypes. Tanzania. 1 male, Amani Malaria Institute, January 1963, Pringle, G. leg., QR code no. NHMUK 014200535, gen. slide no. NHMUK 010317398 (NHMUK); 1 male, Tanga Region, savannah near Usambara West, 475 m, 4.669°S, 38.098°E, 16 October 2004, Darge, Ph. leg., gen. slide no. 36.323 (MWW); 1 male, E-Usambara, Amani, 2 February 1981, Kielland, J. leg., gen. slide no. 4148J Delorhachis (RCAB).
Description
External morphology. Male. Fore wing length 12–13.5 mm. Head, collar, tegula, and thorax vermillion, antenna bipectinate in basal fourth, otherwise filiform, colour as of head. Tegula with one green rounded patch. Dorsal side of thorax with a central green patch; ventral side pale beige without markings. Legs vermillion laterally, beige medially. Abdomen uniformly pale beige, first two abdominal segments with vermillion hair scales. Fore wing short, broad, triangular, with rounded apex; ground colour vermillion, veins contrasting black in postmedial area. Medio-ventral fascia pale green, narrow, elongate, undulate, margined with black on distal edge. Fringe long, slightly darker than ground colour. Hind wing uniformly pale ochreous with slightly darker, long fringe. Underside of both wings pale vermillion without markings; fringe same as ground colour.
Female. Unknown.
Male genitalia. Uncus short, tapered, apically pointed. Tegumen broad. Gnathos broad, tapered, triangular, apically rounded. Juxta rounded basally, with two short, ventral, ribbonlike distal processes; manica with a bunch of sclerotised, medium-long, straight pseudocornuti. Vinculum short and broad, rounded. Valva moderately broad at base, slightly constricted medially, distally forming a long, narrow,curved,pointed dorso-apical process and a very short, pointed ventral process. Phallus medium-long, moderately narrow, straight, bearing a sclerotised ventral surface in its basal half. Vesica membranous without cornuti.
Diagnosis
The two subspecies of D. wetzelae are hardly distinguishable externally; however, the following differences in the male genitalia have been noted: the subspecies from Usambara has a markedly wider and somewhat shorter valva, with more pointed distal processes compared to D. wetzelae. Also, D. w. shambaa has a tapered, triangular gnathos whilst the other species has a gnathos that medially constricts, and the pseudocornuti of the ssp. shambaa are more numerous, slightly longer and straighter.
description: Published as part of Taberer, Tabitha R., Fiebig, Ralf, Giusti, Alessandro & László, Gyula M., 2023, Taxonomic revision of the genus Delorhachis Karsch 1896 (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae), pp. 54-129 in Journal of Natural History 57 (1 - 4) on pages 87-88, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2157346, http://zenodo.org/record/7636801