Stigmella misera Diskus & Stonis, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Diškus, Arūnas
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Karsholt, Ole
name: Torres, Nixon Cumbicus
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Stigmella
Stigmella misera

description: 19. Stigmella misera Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.
(Figs 2, 8, 9, 34, 37, 61–64, 102)
Type material. Holotype: ♂, PERU, Dept. Ayacucho, 35 km W Puquio, elevation 3370 m, 10.iii.1987, O. Karsholt, genitalia slide no. AD 671♂ (ZMUC). Paratypes: 1 ♂, 8 ♀, same label data as holotype, genitalia slide nos AD669♂, AD674♀, AD678♀ (ZMUC).
Diagnosis. Belongs to the S. pandora group. S misera is most similar to S. mustelina Remeikis & Stonis. Externally, S. misera differs from S. mustelina in speckled forewing without fascia; in male genitalia, the twice longer ventral plate of vinculum, very long lateral arms of transtilla, wide lateral lobes of vinculum, and numerous cornuti in a single cluster distinguish S. misera from S. mustelina.
Male (Fig. 34). Forewing length 2.7–3.0 mm; wingspan 5.9–6.5 mm. Head: palpi cream to greyish cream; frontal tuft dark beige to dark grey-brown; collor and scape cream; antenna slightly longer than half the length of forewing; flagellum with 32 segments, glossy, dark grey to pale brown on upper side and underside. Thorax, tegula and forewing yellowish grey to whitish grey with some silvery gloss and speckled with brown and dark browntipped scales; fringe pale grey apically, brownish cream on tornus; underside of forewing grey-brown to dark greybrown, without spots or androconia. Hindwing pale grey to brownish cream on upper side and underside, without spots or androconia; its fringe pale grey. Legs dark grey-brown on upper side, grey cream on underside. Abdomen grey-black on upper side, silvery grey on underside; genital plates cream; anal tufts short, indistinctive, pale brown.
Female. Flagellum with 25 segments. Abdomen grey, glossy on upper side, grey cream to silvery cream on underside; genital segments cream. Otherwise as in male.
Male genitalia (Figs 61–64). Capsule longer (275 µm) than wide (175 µm). Vinculum with long ventral plate and small but wide lateral lobes. Uncus with two lateral lobes, each bearing two papillae. Gnathos with two caudal processes and large angular plate. Valva 195–200 µm long, 55–70 µm wide, with two apical processes and bulged inner lobe; transtilla with very long arms but without sublateral processes. Juxta membranous. Phallus (Figs 63, 64) 170 µm long, 60–70 µm wide; vesica with a basal cluster comprising of five spine-like cornuti.
Female genitalia (Fig. 102). Total length about 905 µm. Anterior and posterior apophyses almost equal in lenght. Vestibulum narrow, without sclerites. Corpus bursae with slender folded part and large (310 µm long, 375 µm wide) basal part, without signa but with distinctive comb-like pectinations. Abdominal apex gradually narrowing but rounded.
Bionomics. Adults fly in March. Otherwise biology unknown.
Distribution (Fig. 9). This species occurs in the Peruvian Andes (Peru: Ayacucho Departamento) at altitudes about 3370 m (Fig. 8).
Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin misera (wretched, unpleasant, poor) in reference to the weakly developed cornuti system in the phallus and rather dull speckled forewing.
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Diškus, Arūnas, Remeikis, Andrius, Karsholt, Ole & Torres, Nixon Cumbicus, 2017, Illustrated review of the leaf-mining Nepticulidae of the central Andes (Peru and Bolivia), pp. 1-70 in Zootaxa 4257 (1) on pages 31-33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.557156