Coleophora elegans Baldizzone
Creators: name: Baldizzone, Giorgio
name: Van Der Wolf, Hugo W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Coleophoridae
Coleophora
Coleophora elegans

description: Coleophora elegans Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov.
(Fig. 3)
Holotype ♂ (GP Bldz 11179) “ Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve | 28.X.1967 | Vári & Potgjeter ”, coll. DNMN.
Paratypes: 3 ♀ ♀ (GP Bldz 13535, 13571, 13572) “ South Africa, Bontebok N.P. Cape [Province] Swellendam 14– 16.11.1993, Mey & Ebert leg.”; 3 ♀♀ (GP Bldz 11652) “ South Africa, Cape Prov., 23 km N Oudtshoorn, Kango Mt Resort, 23.II. 1995, H.W. vd Wolf leg.”. Paratypes in coll. ZMHU, Bldz and Wolf.
Diagnosis. A small species, characterized by the shiny light brown colour of the forewings, with narrow white lines. It does not resemble any species already known from the Afrotropical region. The spiked chitinized ridge along the ventral margin of the sacculus and the stout thorn at the dorsal angle are characteristic in the male genitalia; the arrow-shaped signum is characteristic in the female genitalia.
Description. Wingspan 6–8 mm. Head white with light brown frons. Labial palp small, white; second segment slightly longer than third. Antenna: scape brown, ventrally with tuft of short bristly brown scales; flagellum ringed white and dark brown. Thorax white with ochreous medial line. Forewing shiny light brown with four slender white lines: along the costa, up to halfway the anal vein, on the ventral cell margin from halfway the wing up to the apex, and along dorsum. Fringe grey-brown. Hindwing grey, fringe grey-brown. Abdomen whitish.
Male genitalia (Figs. 28–30): Gnathos knob globular. Tegumen broad. Pedunculus short and rounded. Transtilla slender. Valvula indistinct. Cucullus of moderate length, apex rounded. Sacculus wide, with curved ventral margin; a chitinized ridge parallel to margin topped with three to four strong spikes; dorsal angle with strong thorn parallel to cucullus. Phallotheca tubular, transparent, with basally a strongly sclerotized wedge-shaped juxta. Cornuti a long curved line of needle-like spines.
Female genitalia (Figs. 32–34): Papillae anales ovular. Apophysis posterioris about 1.5 times longer than anterioris. Sterigma subtrapezoid, as wide as long, distal margin rounded, medially excavated towards ostium bursae, proximal margin with many small longitudinal sclerified creases. Ostium bursae V-shaped. Colliculum cupshaped, as long as sterigma. Ductus bursae with pronounced medial line originating in colliculum and progressing into first segment of ductus; second segment, about six times length sterigma, a sleeve covered with tiny spikes, containing the widened medial line, ultimately ending in several convolutions; third segment transparent, towards bursa covered with tiny specks. Corpus bursae large, sack-like, with leaf-like signum.
Abdominal apodemes (Fig. 31): No posterior lateral struts. Transverse strut with pronounced convex distal margin; proximal margin slender, straight. Tergal disk about three times longer than wide, covered with about 40 minute spikes.
Bionomy. The early stages and the foodplant are not known.
Distribution. Known only from the Cape Province of South Africa.
Etymology. The name refers to the elegant appearance of the adult.
description: Published as part of Baldizzone, Giorgio & Van Der Wolf, Hugo W., 2015, On the taxonomy of Afrotropical Coleophoridae (II) (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), pp. 335-362 in Zootaxa 4000 (3) on pages 342-344, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4000.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/254352