Stigmella robleae Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Stonis, Jonas R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Stigmella
Stigmella robleae

description: Stigmella robleae Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.
(Figs 22–41)
Type material. Holotype: ♂, COLOMBIA: 1♂, Manizales, 5°02'04"N, 75°28'41"W, mining larvae on Quercus humboldtii, elevation 2000 m, 21–22.ii.2013, leg. A. Remeikis & J. R. Stonis, genitalia slide no. RA 605♂ (PUJ); Paratype: 1♀, same label, genitalia slide no. RA606♀ (PUJ).
Diagnosis. The new species belongs to the Stigmella saginella group (for the characters of the group see Stonis et al. 2013a) and it mostly resembles to the species from S. nigriverticella complex. For diagnostics of S. robleae sp. nov. see figs 55, 56: the new species is distinguishable by the entirely ochre-orange frontal tuft; ochre-yellow colour and specific pattern of forewing (see fig. 56), also rather specific signa (see fig. 55) in the female genitalia; the host-plant (Quercus humboldtii with a restricted distribution range in South America) also makes this species distinctive. From the other species also feeding on Quercus humboldtii in Colombia but not belonging to the S. nigriverticella complex or S. saginella group (S. humboldti sp. nov.) it differs by the paler hindwing and specific forewing pattern (see fig. 56), and the long slender lamellar signa (not broadly oval signa formed by individualized spines, fig. 52).
Male (Fig. 29). Forewing length about 2.3 mm; wingspan about 5.2 mm. Head: palpi yellowish cream; frontal tuft entirely ochre-orange; collar and scape yellowish cream; antenna slightly shorter than half of forewing; flagellum with about 24 segments, fuscous grey on upper side, greyish cream on underside. Thorax and tegulae entirely ochre-yellow, without darkenings. Forewing ochre-yellow, with some sparsely scattered blackish to black scales and with black, ill-defined apical spot near forewing costal margin; basal half of forewing with blackish darkening along narrow costal margin; black scales, forming apical spot, with weak purple iridescence; cilia grey on tornus, ochre-yellow on forewing apex; underside of forewing dark grey to grey, with very weak purple iridescence but no spots or androconia. Hindwing and its cilia grey, with no androconia; hindwing underside grey. Legs glossy, yellowish cream, except forelegs which fuscous on upper side. Abdomen blackish grey on upper side, yellow-cream on underside; anal tufts greyish cream.
Female (Fig. 30). Forewing length about 2.2 mm; wingspan about 4.8 mm. Flagellum with about 22 segments. Forewing color more intense ochre-yellow; black apical spot very distinctive, large, with some purple iridescence; basal half of forewing without blackish darkening along costal margin; forewing underside dark grey with weak purple iridescence. Otherwise as male.
Male genitalia (Figs 33–37). Capsule weakly chitinized, longer (225 µm) than wide (170 µm). Vinculum without lateral lobes, ventral plate short (Fig. 36). Uncus with two short truncate lateral lobes (Fig. 34). Gnathos with two closely juxtaposed caudal processes (Figs 34, 36). Valva (Figs 33, 37) 190–195 µm long, with numerous long chaetae; apical process weakly individualized (Fig. 33); transtilla with very short sublateral processes (Fig. 36). Juxta X-shaped (Fig. 33). Phallus (Fig. 35) 155 µm long, 50–55 µm broad; vesica without cornuti.
Female genitalia (Figs 38–41, 55). Total length about 1025 µm. Apophyses anteriores (about 45–50 m) much shorter than apophyses posteriores (about 100–105 µm) (Figs 38, 39). Vestibulum narrow, without sclerites. Accessory sac very small, not individualized. Corpus bursae oval to elongated, 860 µm long, 310–330 µm broad, covered with numerous pectinations and with two connected, strongly thickened signa (Figs 40, 41); one signum is slightly longer than the other (Fig. 39).
Bionomics (Figs 23–28). Mines in leaves. Host-plant: Quercus humboldtii Bonpl, section Lobatae (Figs 23– 25). Egg on upper side of the leaf. Larvae mine in January and early February (in February most of leaf-mines are already empty). Sinuous gallery of mine filled with blackish frass, with some clear margins left unfilled only in distal half of the gallery (Figs 26–28). Larva bright green, with pale brown intestine (Fig. 28). Larval exit slit on upper side of the leaf. Cocoon (Figs 31, 32) beige cream; length 2.2–2.4 mm, maximal width 1 mm. Adults emerged in March.
Distribution (Fig. 42). Currently known from single locality in Colombia, in montane mixed forest at elevation 2000 m (Fig. 22).
Etymology. The new species is named after the famous local (Spanish) name of its host-plant (roble), so widely used in spoken language and popular or scientific literature in Latin America.
description: Published as part of Remeikis, Andrius & Stonis, Jonas R., 2015, First discovery of Quercus- feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) in South America, with description of new species and designation of the S. nigriverticella complex in the S. saginella group, pp. 409-429 in Zootaxa 4057 (3) on pages 411-412, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4057.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/237153