Pharcidopsyche Saigusa & Sugimoto 2025
Creators: name: Saigusa, Toyohei
name: Sugimoto, Mika
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Psychidae
Pharcidopsyche

description: Genus Pharcidopsyche, nov.
Type-species: Pharcidopsyche novemplicata Saigusa & Sugimoto, sp. nov.
Adults
Very small psychid species with wing expanse ca 7–8 mm in both sexes.
Generic characters are mostly confined to integumental structure (mainly based on a macerated female paratype and genitalia of the holotype male of the type species). Scaling (vestiture) is mostly stated in the description of the type species.
Head: Cranium (Figs. 3A, B) rather broad, 2 x as wide as long, as long as high, weakly produced forwards, considerably rounded dorsally; compound eye slightly larger than 3/4 head height, almost rounded; ocellus absent. Mouthparts: Maxilla (Fig. 3C) reduced, 1/4 as long as head width; galea (proboscis) 1/2 as long as total length of maxilla, lamellate, tapered apically, finely setulose; maxillary palpus reduced to 2 minute and almost globular palpomeres; labial palpus (Fig. 3D) nearly as long as head width, projecting anterolaterally, 3-segmented, palpomere 1 short, palpomere 2 weakly curved dorsally, twice as long as palpomere 1, palpomere 3 almost as long as palpomere 1, more or less compressed laterally. Antenna short, ca 1.7 x as long as head width, slightly shorter than 1/4 length of wing including fringe (the radio slightly larger in male holotype): scape moderately long, 0.7 mm long, slightly shorter than 1/2 width; pedicel small, 1/2 as long as scape, slightly longer than wide; flagellum consisting of 21 flagellomeres; flagellomeres on subbasal to middle part of flagellum (Fig. 3H) short cylindrical in shape, 1.5 x as long as thick, with a small projection subapically that bears a longish seta; apical flagellomeres (Fig. 3I) slenderer and shorter. Male antenna (Figs. 3E, F, G): Flagellomeres bearing greyish sensory hairs in scale-free ventral surface; sensory hairs longer than thickness of flagellomere, directing ventrodistally and ventrolaterally.
Thorax: Metathoracic furcasternum (Figs. 4H, I) with pair of slender furcal arms, each of which is united with equally slender apophyseal rod invaginated from posterior margin of metepimeron, the united portion of the two components widened. Tegula semicircular with a short narrow neck, densely covered with appressed scales. Mesoscutum densely covered with tight appressed long broad scales; mesoscutellum (Figs. 1D, E, Figs. 2D, E) with a brush of broad long scales obliquely erected and more or less expanded radially.
Wings (Figs. 4 A-C): Forewing moderately elongate, longitudinally almost bilaterally symmetrical, 3 x as long as wide, narrowed beyond distal 1/4 to roundly produced apex; discoidal cell 2/3 as long as wing; vein R1 arising rather close to base of R-stem; vein Rs with 3 branches, vein R4+5 ending at wing apex. Vein M with 2 branches; vein CuA2 emitted from posterodistal corner of discoidal cell, directing posteriorly for short distance, then acutely bent posteriorly and running to outer margin of wing; vein CuP fine, distally more or thickened and fused with vein CuA2 at its bent; accessory cell present; vein M in discoidal cell simple, i.e. intercalary cell absent. Hindwing slightly longer than 3 x width, with apex roundly pointed; all veins present, vein M in discoidal cell simple. Forewing dorsal side (Fig. 1F) dark brown with each 2 indistinct short oblique pale stripes on costa and hind margin. Fringe scales of forewing (Fig. 4D) and of apical part of hindwing (Fig. 4E) widened on distal part and with serrate distal margin.
Legs: Foreleg (Fig. 4F, p 1) short, epiphysis 1/3 as long as tibia (Fig. 4G), arising from slightly beyond middle of tibia; mid- and hindlegs (Fig. 4F, p 2, p 3) moderately long and slender, the former with pair of distal spurs, the latter with each pair of middle and apical spurs. Legs densely covered with scales, without long hairs, even on hind tibia.
Abdomen: Covered with blackish scales dorsally, yellowish ones ventrally. Male abdomen bearing long scales distally.
Male genitalia (Figs. 5, 6): Extremely different in structure from general morphology of psychid male genitalia. Dorsal element almost entirely desclerotized (membranous) except very narrow anterior marginal sclerotization; the membranous dorsal area narrowed posteriorly to apex, so that sclerotized uncus absent. Subanal plate weakly sclerotized, sparsely setose. Vinculum on dorsal 1/2 narrow, continuing from the sclerotized anterior marginal stripe of dorsal element, then peculiarly expanded widely on ventral 1/2 (Figs. 5A, 5D, Fig. 6), the expanded part in profile gradually tapering ventrodistally; ventral surface of vinculum very wide with straight anterior margin (therefore saccus not formed in any length or width), then strongly narrowed posteriorly to blunt ventromedial projection; posterior margin of expanded vinculum almost fused with dorsoproximal area of outer wall of valva, then tightly connected with ventroproximal part of valva; valva peculiar in shape and structure, basal area of outer wall wide, loosely united with posterodorsal margin of expanded vinculum; middle part of valva (Fig. 5D) consisting of elongate lamellate ampulla (dorsal process of valva, cucullus of authors) and short rounded harpe (ventral process of valva, sacculus of authors); ampulla projecting posterodorsally and densely bearing long curved setae on inner surface; harpe of small and rounded lamella, with its inner surface bearing two sclerites, the distal one spatulate and posteriorly directing with its distal margin sparsely with minute setulae, the basal one of dorsally directing process with sharply pointed tip; transtilla very wide and moderately long, of which posterolateral corner continuing to dorsoproximal part of inner wall of valva; juxta semicircular, supporting distal part of phallus, with its posteromedial portion produced posteriorly into a short sharp process (Fig. 5E); phallus large, very thick on basal 1/3 with extraordinary wide ventral opening for ductus ejaculatorius (Figs. 5B, C, Fig. 6), then more or less narrowed towards apical 1/4, that is much tapered, curved ventrally and ending in a slender hook-like projection.
Female terminalia (Fig. 7): Seventh abdominal segment more or less swollen, its entire anterior marginal area densely bearing dark brown corethrogyne (each fine piliform scales whitish); 8th tergum (Figs. 7C, D) rectangular with anterior margin incurved, densely microtrichose, bearing apophyses anteriores nearly 2 x as long as tergum; 8th sternum (Figs. 7B, C, E) slightly shorter than 8th tergum, densely microtrichose, posterior 1/2 narrowed to short cylindrical projection for ostium bursae, and bearing minute setulae along distal margin; 9th tergum weakly sclerotized with apophysis posterioris almost as long as apophysis anterioris; apophysis ventralis absent; ovipositor more or less elongate, slightly shorter than apophyses, apical part consisting of dorsal epiproct and ventral hypoproct (Fig. 7C), both weakly sclerotized, epiproct bearing several short stiff apically stump setae (Fig. 7F).
Mature larva
(Fig. 8)
Detailed integumental morphology and chaetotaxy of the larvae will be published in a separate paper. Well-grown larvae 3.2 mm long, 0.6 mm wide in dead dried condition, 5 mm long in macerated swollen condition (presumably 4 mm in alive); cranium and thoracic nota and legs uniformly brown, sclerites on other part tinged with pale brown; membranous parts whitish; broadest at 3rd to 5th abdominal segments, gradually tapered to anal end. Important characters of larvae are as follows: Prothoracic tergum single, not divided into main dorsal sclerite and pair of laterotergites, and enpassing lateral setae and spiracle; prolegs present on 3rd to 5th abdominal segments and anal segment; 6th segment without prolegs; prolegs of 4th segment distinctly shifted laterally from a supposed line connecting prolegs of 3rd and 5th segments; ventral sclerites of 4th segment much larger than those on 3rd to 5th segments; 6th segment with 2 pairs of ventral sclerites, inner pair homologized with ventral sclerites of three preceding segments, outer pair corresponded to prolegs of preceding segments.
Early larva (Fig. 9F) 0.7 mm long, almost white in colour. Prolegs as in mature larva.
Larval case
(Fig. 9)
Cases of well-grown larvae 13–15 mm long, 1.0 mm at the widest portion, 0.5–0.6 mm the narrowest; pale yellowish white to pale brown on outer surface, made of silk, without prominent covering substances on its smooth outer surface except minute granules mainly on anterior part. Case has nine longitudinal pleats throughout its length, number of pleats constant; ridge of each pleat somewhat thicker than surface between ridges; facing surfaces near ridge close to each other and inter-ridges surface loosening when case shrunk there. Anterior opening of case always widely opens when larva is active, plane of the anterior opening perpendicular to long axis of case; posterior opening usually closed. The case is nearly 3 times longer than larval length; position of case where larva or pupa stays inflated by inner pressure by larval or pupal body, and other parts without the inner pressure are smaller in diameter. When the case accepts inner pressure, then two sides closely facing each other near rides of a pleat are widely opened, and inwardly curved area between ridges loosens, thence diameter of the case becomes wider.
Case of early larva (Fig. 9F) 2.2 mm long, 0.45 mm wide at anterior opening, with nine longitudinal ridges as larger cases.
Diagnosis
The adults of this genus are superficially easily distinguished from other psychid genera by the vein CuP of forewing fused with basal portion of the vein CuA2. This character state is also found in the Degia group, however, the latter are larger and more roust psychids with pectinate male antennae and male genitalia with pair of hooks of uncus and narrow vinculum not fused with the base of valva (Dierl 1997; Sobczyk 2009). The adults are also quite different from other psychid genera in the peculiar structure of male genitalia stated above.
The larval stage of this genus is quite distinct from larvae of other psychid genera by the 6th abdominal segment lacking prolegs.
Etymology
The generic name, Pharcidopsyche means pharcidos (=wrinkle) + Psyche, based on the larval case with 9 longitudinal pleats (wrinkles).
description: Published as part of Saigusa, Toyohei & Sugimoto, Mika, 2025, Pharcidopsyche novemplicata, a curious new genus and species of the Psychidae, representing new subfamily Pharcidopsychinae (Lepidoptera, Tineoidea), pp. 501-519 in Zootaxa 5575 (4) on pages 508-512, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5575.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14762709