Alasea Rota
Creators: name: Rota, Jadranka
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Choreutidae
Alasea

description: Alasea Rota, new genus
Figs. 1–8
Type species: Alasea corniculata Rota, new species.
Diagnosis: Alasea can be easily distinguished from the New World genera Anthophila Haworth, Caloreas, Melanoxena Dognin, Prochoreutis, Tebenna Billberg, and Tortyra Walker based on wing shape and wing pattern. The combination of an almost black forewing with metallic specks and an orange-yellow hindwing with a narrow black border is unique (Fig. 1) among these genera. In Choreutis Hübner the labial palpus is dilated distally and the corpus bursae has a signum (in Alasea the labial palpus is pointed distally and the corpus bursae has no signum). Rhobonda Walker has a much greater forewing length (8 mm vs. 5 mm in Alasea). Hemerophila Hübner species have much broader wings (length to width ratio ca. 1.9:1 for forewing and 1.3:1 for hindwing vs. 2.3:1 and 1.9:1 of Alasea), differently shaped valvae (long and narrow, with costa and sacculus similarly developed vs. short and wide, with long horn-like projection of costa in Alasea), and a corpus bursae with a signum (absent in Alasea). In Zodia Heppner the wings also are broader than in Alasea, there is no saccus, and a signum is present.
Description. Head: Frons smooth, with metallic sheen. Vertex with loosely appressed piliform scales. Eye bordered by piliform scales ventrally and laterally (Fig. 2). Labial palpus upturned, smooth-scaled; length ca. 1.3 times horizontal diameter of compound eye (Fig. 2). Haustellum well developed, basally with two rows of scales thickly arranged. Antenna ca. 0.5 times length of FW; basal 5–7 flagellomeres heavily scaled dorsally; sensillae ca. 1.5 times flagellomere diameter in male, ca. 0.5 times in female (Fig. 4). Ocellus large. Chaetosema absent.
Thorax: Smooth-scaled, with metallic sheen. Legs with tibial spur pattern 0-2-4; long piliform scales on tibia of meso- and metathoracic leg (Fig. 3). FW with apex bluntly pointed, tornus rounded; length ca. 2.3 times width; DC length ca. 0.55 times FW length; width of DC ca. 0.18 times DC length; CuA2 originating ca. 0.8 along length of DC; R4 and R5 connate, all other veins separate beyond DC; chorda present; M3 and CuA1 approximate at cell; apical 0.33 of CuP present (Fig. 5). Hindwing elongate, apex bluntly pointed, anal region rounded. Length ca. 1.9 times width; length of DC ca. 0.5 times HW length; width of DC ca. 0.2 times DC length; Sc+R1 at costa before apex; Rs to costa at apex; vestigial M vein present in cell; M3 and CuA1 stalked ca. 0.3 distance; apical 0.25 of CuP present (Fig. 5).
Abdomen: Male genitalia (Fig. 6) with tegumen large, 1.5 times longer than vinculum, V-shaped with rounded dorsum. Small socius-like setaceous area subdorsal on tegumen. Vinculum triangular; saccus broad, short. Valva short, wide in basal 0.5; distal 0.5 represented primarily by curved horn-like projection from costa, extending beyond sacculus; costal horn-like projection with spine at distal end; sacculus convex; valva with sparse setae scattered throughout, except in mesal portion. Juxta vase-shaped, narrowing dorsally. Phallus ca. 2 times length of costa of valva; basal 0.67 represented by phallobase, distal 0.33 by aedoeagus; both parts of similar width; vesica with sclerotized plate distally (=cornutus?) (Fig. 7). Female genitalia (Fig. 8) with papilla analis typical for the family; setaceous on lateral and posterior margins. Cone-shaped sclerotization between papillae anales, around oviporus. Apophysis posterioris slender throughout; ca. 1.5 times as long as anterioris and about 0.33 as thick. Apophysis anterioris greatly enlarged posteriorly, tapering anteriorly; posterior 0.5 not free from membrane. Ostium on membrane between segments 7 and 8. Ductus bursae 0.17 as wide as long; posterior 0.25 slender, uniform in width almost to corpus, then broadened slightly just before junction with corpus; with slight twist less than one revolution. Corpus bursae ovate; small, about twice as broad as ductus in mated females (no unmated females examined); anterior 0.5-0.7 spiculate; without signum.
Etymology: The generic name is derived from the name for the ALAS project, during which this genus was discovered; it is female in gender.
description: Published as part of Rota, Jadranka, 2008, A new genus and new species of metalmark moths (Lepidoptera: Choreutidae) from Costa Rica, pp. 12-18 in Zootaxa 1933 on pages 14-15, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.274598