Coleophora transvaalensis Baldizzone 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Baldizzone, Giorgio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Coleophoridae
Coleophora
Coleophora transvaalensis

description: Coleophora transvaalensis Baldizzone, sp. nov.
(Figs. 16, 84–86)
Holotype ♀ (GP Bldz 11653) “ RSA, Transvaal | 30 km NO Pretoria | Rooderplaatdam NR. | 5 Feb. 1995 | leg. HW vd Wolf ”, in coll. Baldizzone research collection, Asti.
Diagnosis. Small species belonging to the group of C. psychropa Meyrick, 1921, which includes also C. etoshae Baldizzone & van der Wolf, 2011 and C. camerunensis Baldizzone & van der Wolf, 2020. All have the same habitus with the forewing of uniform ochre colour and a thin white costal streak. The male of C. transvaalensis is unknown. The female genitalia differ from those of the other species by the following characteristics: the shape of the sterigma, which is about as long as it is wide, the cup-shaped colliculum is more elongated, the ductus bursae is slightly wider in the distal half, the presence of a short medial line at the junction between colliculum and ductus bursae and a very short, asymmetrical spinulate section, and the corpus bursae smaller in the shape of an oval sac.
Description. Wingspan 9,5 mm. Head of ochre colour, white above the eye. Antenna: scape white on outer side, ochre on inner side, without erect scales; flagellum white ringed with light grey. Labial palpus ochre, lighter on inner side, white on upper side; third article about as long as second. Proboscis very short, normal shaped. Thorax and tegula ochre. Forewing of uniform ochre colour, with slender white line along the costa ending at 1/4 before apex; costal cilia white at end of costal line, ochre up to apex, dorsal cilia light ochre. Hindwing greyish brown; cilia light greyish ochre. Abdomen ochre.
Abdominal structures (Fig. 86): No posterior lateral struts. Transverse strut thin, almost right, proximal edge more sclerotized. Tergal disks (3 rd tergite) length about 3,5 times their width, covered with about 22–25 small conical spines.
Male genitalia: Unknown.
Female genitalia (Figs. 84–85): Papillae anales oval. Apophyses posteriores about twice the length of the anteriores. Sterigma subtrapezoidal, proximal edge almost straight, convex distal edge with few thin setae. Ostium bursae large, oval. Colliculum cup-shaped, more sclerotized in distal part, anterior part less sclerotized with folded outer edges and short and wide medial line; a very short, asymmetrical spinulate zone restricted to transitional section between colliculum and apical portion of ductus bursae; distal part of ductus straight and transparent; proximal section about three times as long as posterior one, spiraled, more sclerotized in central part. Corpus bursae an oval sac; signum leaf-like with laminar part less sclerotized.
Bionomy. The early stages and the foodplant are unknown.
Distribution. RSA (prov. Gauteng).
Etymology. The name derives from the Transvaal, the region where the species was collected.
description: Published as part of Baldizzone, Giorgio, 2021, On the taxonomy of Afrotropical Coleophoridae (VI). New species of the genus Coleophora Hübner, 1822 from South Africa (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), pp. 167-205 in Zootaxa 5071 (2) on page 199, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5071.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5723470