Sergeya Ponomarenko 2008
Creators: name: Bidzilya, Oleksiy V.
name: Mey, Wolfram
name: Rajaei, Hossein
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Sergeya

description: Sergeya Ponomarenko, 2008
Sinevia Omelko, 1998. Preoccupied by Sinevia Kerzhner, 1988 (Hemiptera, Myridae)
Type species: Sinevia temulenta Omelko, 1998
Sergeya Ponomarenko, 2008. Replacement name for Sinevia Omelko, 1998.
Diagnosis. Sergeya species can be recognized superficially by their usually short wings (wingspan 6.5–9.0 mm, with exception in S. harambee sp. nov. that is 12.0–14.3 mm); narrow yellowish-brown forewings with brown costal margin and brown tornal spot. Among Afrotropical Gelechiidae, only two species (Lanceopenna pseudogaleotis Janse, 1950 (Fig. 20) and Psamathocrita doloma Bradley, 1965) have the similar wing pattern. The Oriental species of the genera Neolitinia, Parateleiopsis and Tawaia (all described by Ponomarenko, Omelko & Omelko, 2021) are also similar to Sergeya by forewing pattern, but smaller in their wingspan (4.6–6.5 mm) (Ponomarenko et al. 2021a, 2021b, 2021c).
In the male genitalia, Sergeya is characterized by modified feather-like scales on valva and/or uncus, which is unique among Gelechiidae. Other diagnostic characters are: short (shorter than uncus) rounded tegumen without anteromedial emargination; elongated uncus; reduced gnathos; and basally inflated glandiductor terminated in strong pointed process(es). Other genera of Litini (Exoteleia Wallengren, 1881 and Teleiodes Sattler, 1960) with the same glandiductor differ in the long (4–5 times longer than uncus), deeply emarginated anteriorly tegumen, as well as well-developed uncus. Slightly similar shortened tegumen is also characteristic for Oriental genera Neolitinia and Parateleiopsis, but these latter genera have completely reduced uncus, and differ in other details. Lanceopenna is similar to Sergeya in most characters of the male genitalia. However, in Lanceopenna the glandiductor is absent, but sacculus is well developed (Fig. 41).
Sergeya is also characterized by having the dense brush of hair-like scales on male abdominal tergites II–III, but this character is observed in Neolitinia, Parachronistis Meyrick, 1925, Chorivalva Omelko, 1988 and some other genera of the tribe Litini (Omelko 1986; Park 1994).
Description (Figs 1–23). Head: Smooth or covered with long scales that forming frontal knob-like projection in some species; ocelli absent; yellow scales tipped with brown above the eyes and at base of antenna. Labial palpus recurved; segment 2 brown with white apical belts, smooth, its upper and inner surfaces pale; segment 3 about 1.5 times shorter and slightly narrower than segment 2, its colour is brown with white medial and apical rings. Pecten on antennal scape absent; flagellum equally alternating with black and white in basal 1/3–1/2, then 3–4 black flagellomeres followed by 2–4 white flagellomeres, terminal 1–2 flagellomeres white. Antenna in male slightly thicker than in female. Thorax: Dorsum and tegula usually concolorous with head and forewing’s ground colour. Forewing (Figs 1–19) narrow, apex strongly or moderately produced; wingspan 6.5–14.3 mm; forewing dark yellow to yellowish-brown or yellowish-grey, pattern represented by brown irroration along margin and brown tornal spot; additional markings like brown spots, occasionally mixed with silver, in middle of dorsal and costal margins, as well as greyish-brown suffusion along dorsum and apex are also common in most of species; fringes same to forewing’s ground colour at apex and grey on dorsal margin of the forewing; some species uniformly light brown without markings but with darks suffusion along margins and in apex. Hindwing 1.5–2 times narrower than forewing, apex strongly produces; venation as described and illustrated for S. prominula by Janse (1950).
Abdomen: Male’s tergum VIII and sternum VIII composed of unbroken ring; tergum VIII subrectangular, slightly broader than long; sternum VIII twice longer then broad, anterior margin gradually invaginated, with two short caudally straight projections; sternum II (Figs 24–26) 1.5–2 times longer than broad, with or without semicircular anterior sclerite; anterior margin weakly emarginated, venulae indistinct; tergum II strongly sclerotized laterally, posterior margin with short or long narrow sclerite projecting anteriorly; dense hair brush of androconial scales presents between 2 nd and 3 d tergums.
Male genitalia (Figs 27–40). Uncus elongate, slender to moderately wide, apically subrectangular or narrowed, densely covered with hairs, strong setae or/and modified feather-like scales in proximal part; gnathos reduced; tegumen short (shorter than uncus), rounded to trapezoid, slightly broader than uncus; cucullus elongate, of equal width or narrowed in basal half, basal part smooth, distal part densely covered with hairs or/and modified feather-like scales, far produced over the top of uncus; sacculus reduced; base of glandiductor inflated, well sclerotized, simple or with rounded or digitate dorsally directed projection (looks laterally directed on unrolled slides) (Figs 33–36), or base of glandiductor is broadly rounded, membranous (Figs 37–40), glandiductor terminated into strong, pointed process that can be divided into several projections; juxta fused with posterior margin of vinculum in a weakly sclerotized lobe forming ring around phallus; lobes of juxta are reduced or short, hump-shaped, covered with short setae; vinculum subrectangular, broader than long to very narrow, band-shaped with deep reverse V-shaped anteromedial emargination (in S. chuii sp. nov. and S. bunsoensis sp. nov.); saccus from moderately to broadly rounded (in S. korongotaji sp. nov.) to triangular, absent (in S. chuii sp. nov. and S. bunsoensis sp. nov.); phallic tube elongated, slender, straight or weakly curved, with subapical projections (in S. chuii sp. nov. S. bunsoensis sp. nov.), with several short tooth-shaped cornuti on dorsal side (in S. palescens sp. nov.); caecum weaker differentiated from phallic tube, with short narrow basal projection; bulbus ejaculatorius 2–3 times longer than phallus, membranous or with weak internal sclerotization.
Female genitalia (Figs 42–46). Tergum and sternum VIII unmodified, slightly broader than long, subtrapezoid; sternum II with moderately long, slender, weakly incurved, free apodemes and indistinct long venulae. Papillae anales ovate, sparsely covered with short hairs; apophyses posteriores straight, thin, 1.5–3 times longer than apophyses anteriores; tergum VIII evenly sclerotized, subrectangular; sternum VIII weakly sclerotized, unmodified except for narrow trapezoid posteriorly undulated ostial sclerite (in S. lobata sp. nov.) or with rounded ostial sclerite (in S. harambee sp. nov.); apophyses anteriores straight, slightly longer than sternum VIII; ostium U-shaped or tubular, strongly sclerotized and covered posteriorly with honey-comb sclerotization (in S. harambee sp. nov.); ductus bursae membranous, from short and moderately broad to very long and slender; corpus bursae ovate to rounded, covered with needle-shaped sclerites or minute spines predominantly in posterior part; signa vary in shape, size and number, from numerous slender, needle-shaped sclerites gathered in band between membranous and spinose parts of ductus bursae (in S. hackeri sp. nov., S. lobata sp. nov.), or several short thorn-shaped sclerites (in S. palescens sp. nov.), to signum as a single short elongate sclerite (in S. prominula) or completely absent signum (in S. harambee sp. nov.).
Biology. Host plants and immature stages are unknown.
Distribution. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, DR Congo, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, Russia (Far East: Primorksiy krai), Japan and Thailand.
Key to the Sergeya species based on external characters
Remark: S. hackeri sp. nov., S. chuii sp. nov., S. bunsoensis sp. nov. are superficially undistinguishable and examination of genitalia structure is necessary for confident identification.
1. Wingspan 12.0–14.3 mm, forewing with broad dark suffusion along margins or uniformly brown with dark apex (Figs 18, 19)................................................................................... S. harambee sp. nov.
- Wingspan 6.5–9.0 mm, forewing with narrow dark suffusion along dorsal margin and brown spots (Figs 1–17)........... 2
2. Forewing with costal medial spot only (Figs 1–3, 12)......................................................... 3
- Forewing with costal and dorsal brown medial spots (Figs 4–11, 13–17)......................................... 4
3. Tornal spot on 3/4 of dorsal margin distinct (Fig. 12)....................................... S. korongotaji sp. nov.
- Tornal spot on 3/4 of dorsal margin indistinct (Figs 1–3)............................................ S. prominula
4. Costal and dorsal medial spots connected and form dark oblique transverse line (Figs 6, 13–15)....................... 5
- Costal and dorsal medial spots separated (Figs 4, 5, 7–10, 16, 17)............................................... 6
5. Wingspan 6.5–7.0 mm (Figs 13–15)......................................................... S. lobata sp. nov.
- Wingspan 5.9–6.0 mm (Fig. 6)............................................................... S. olei sp. nov.
6. Ground colour of forewing pale (Figs 16, 17).................................................. S. davidi sp. nov.
- Ground colour of forewing light brown to yellowish-brown (Figs 4, 5, 7)......................................... 7
7. Costal margin narrowly irrorated with brown (Figs 9–11)..................................................... 8
- Costal margin concoloured to ground colour of the forewing (Figs 4, 5, 7)............................................................................................. S. hackeri sp. nov., S. chuii sp. nov., S. bunsoensis sp. nov.
8. Dorsal and tornal spot on dorsal margin distinct (Fig. 11)..................................... S. malawica sp. nov.
- Dorsal and tornal spot on dorsal margin indistinct (Figs 9, 10)................................. S. palescens sp. nov.
Key to the Sergeya species based on male genitalia
1. Saccus absent, phallus with triangular projection before apex (Figs 31, 32)....................................... 2
- Saccus present, phallus without triangular projection before apex (Figs 27–30, 33–40).............................. 3
2. Distal process of glandiductor curved, extending over the top of cucullus (Fig. 31)..................... S. chuii sp. nov.
- Distal process of glandiductor straight, extending to 2/3 length of cucullus (Fig. 32)............... S. bunsoensis sp. nov.
3. Basal part of glandiductor broad, rounded, membranous (Figs 37–40)........................................... 4
- Basal part of glandiductor weakly to moderately swollen, sclerotized (Figs 27–30, 33–36)........................... 6
4. Basal part of cucullus 1/2–1/3 width of distal part (Figs 39, 40)................................................ 5
- Basal part of cucullus as broad as distal part (Figs 37, 38)........................................ S. lobata sp. nov.
5. Distal process of glandiductor single, saccus as broad as distal part of cucullus (Fig. 39)................ S. davidi sp. nov.
- Distal process of glandiductor divided in 5–7 projections, saccus narrower than distal part of cucullus (Fig. 40)............................................................................................... S. harambee sp. nov.
6. Cucullus narrowed in distal 1/2–1/3 (Figs 29, 30)........................................................... 7
- Cucullus of even width or widened apically (Figs 27, 28, 33–36)............................................... 8
7. Cucullus narrowed in distal 1/3, ventral margin straight in basal part, without setae (Fig. 29)........... S. hackeri sp. nov. Cucullus narrowed in distal 1/2, ventral margin bent in basal part and bears setae (Fig. 30)................ S. olei sp. nov.
8. Basal part of glandiductor with dorsally directed projection (Figs 33–35)......................................... 9
- Basal part of glandiductor without dorsally directed projection (Figs 27, 28)............................ S. prominula
9. Cucullus slender, knife-shaped, pointed apically, phallus with row of short teeth before apex, saccus extending to the top of pedunculus (Figs 33, 34)............................................................... S. palescens sp. nov.
- Cucullus broad, rounded apically, phallus without row of short teeth before apex, saccus not extending to the top of pedunculus (Figs 35, 36)........................................................................................ 10
10. Cucullus straight, basal lobe of glandiductor digitate, saccus extending nearly to the top of pedunculus (Fig. 35)............................................................................................. S. malawica sp. nov.
- Cucullus bent, basal lobe of glandiductor rounded, saccus extending to 1/2 length of pedunculus (Fig. 36)................................................................................................ S. korongotaji sp. nov.
Key to the Sergeya species based on female genitalia
Remark. Females of S. chuii sp. nov., S. bunsoensis sp. nov., S. malawica sp. nov., S. korongotaji sp. nov., S. lobata sp. nov. and S. davidi sp. nov. are unknown.
1. Antrum tubular, honey-comb sclerotized posteriorly, signum absent (Fig. 46)...................... S. harambee sp. nov.
- Antrum U-shaped, unmodified posteriorly, signa present (Figs 42–45)........................................... 2
2. Signum a small sclerotized patch (see Janse 1950, pl. 14, fig. 2)...................................... S. prominula
- Signa needle- or tooth-shaped (Figs 42–45)................................................................ 3
3. Posterior part of corpus bursae covered with moderately long needle-shaped sclerite, anterior margin of sternum VIII bent anteriorly (Figs 42, 43)................................................................................ 4
- Posterior part of corpus bursae covered with minute spines, anterior margin of sternum VIII straight (Figs 44, 45)........ 5
4. Ostium without lateral tooth, antrum with lateral hump-shaped lobes, signa gathered in ovate band (Fig. 42)................................................................................................... S. hackeri sp. nov.
- Ostium bears lateral tooth, antrum does not have lateral hump-shaped lobes, signa gathered in г-shaped band (Fig. 43)............................................................................................. S. olei sp. nov.
5. Ostial sclerite trapezoid, sinuate posteriorly, ductus bursae extremely slender in its medial part, corpus bursae with medial band of slender needle-shaped signa (Fig. 45)...................................................... S. lobata sp. nov.
- Ostial sclerite absent, ductus bursae of even width, corpus bursae with several short thorn-shaped signa in its medial part (Fig. 44)................................................................................ S. palescens sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Bidzilya, Oleksiy V., Mey, Wolfram & Rajaei, Hossein, 2024, First record of the genus Sergeya Ponomarenko, 2008 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) from the Afrotropical and Oriental regions, with description of ten new species, pp. 486-506 in Zootaxa 5493 (5) on pages 487-490, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5493.5.2, http://zenodo.org/record/13330443