Acalyptris platani
Creators: name: Van, Erik J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2007
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Acalyptris
Acalyptris platani

description: Acalyptris platani (Müller–Rutz)
(Figs. 1, 2, 7, 20, 21, 45, 62, 84, 89, 93, 94, 95, 98, 102, 105, 122)
Weberia platani Müller-Rutz, 1934 a (15 June): 122–123, pl. 1. Syntypes: SWITZERLAND, Tessin, Mendisio, x.1932, ex larva Platanus acerifolia [not examined].
Niepeltia platani; Strand 1934 (15 August): 241 [new combination].
Weberina platani; Müller-Rutz 1934b (15 September): separate paper slip, inserted in issue [new combination].
Niepeltia platani; Lhomme 1934: 138 [France]; Klimesch 1951: 66 [Italy]; Hering 1957: 789 [mine keys]; Utech 1962: 234 [Georgia]; Klimesch 1968: 195 [Macedonia]; Scoble 1980: 205 [redescription]; van Nieukerken 1982: 19 [Greece].
Weberina platani; Skala 1938: 31 [Corsica]; Buhr 1940: 209 [Corsica]; Klimesch 1940: 191 [Italy].
Trifurcula (Weberina) platani; Klimesch 1978: 253, fig. 35 [Greece].
Acalyptris platani; van Nieukerken 1986b: 141 [new combination, listed]; van Nieukerken & Johansson 1990: 258 [description]; Gustafsson & van Nieukerken 1990: 345 [larva described]; A. & Z. Laštůvka 1993: 158; van Nieukerken 1996: 24 [catalogued]; A. & Z. Laštůvka 1997: 117 [description]; Olivella 2000: 30 [Spain]; Wieser et al. 2002: 5 [Iran]; van Nieukerken et al. 2004a: 227 [Iberian Peninsula]; A. & Z. Laštůvka 2005: 10 [Sicily]; van Nieukerken et al. 2006: 56 [France, Corsica].
Stigmella sp.; Hering 1957: 789 [leafmines with narrow frass]; Hansson 1985: 92 [parasite reared, Italy].
Diagnosis. Males unmistakeable by colour pattern and cuspidate hindwings with special raised scales, not resembling any other Nepticulidae. Female may somewhat resemble Ectoedemia (Etainia) species because of double fascia, but these have more prominent pattern and are usually larger (see van Nieukerken & Laštůvka 2002). Male genitalia very characteristic, separated from the other species in the group by the valva with two inner lobes. Female genitalia with vaginal sclerotisations which are characteristic for the group, separated from the next three species by the more rounded abdominal tip and extremely narrow signa with crenate margins.
Description. Male (Figs. 1, 7). Forewing length 2.4–2.5 mm, wingspan 5.2–5.4 mm. Head: frontal tuft yellowish, on vertex fuscous, two areas clearly separated; collar very inconspicuous, as vertex; scape and pedicel white. Antenna with ca. 34 segments. Thorax yellowish white to brown. Forewing basal 1/4 yellowish brown, followed by broad yellowish white fascia to 1/2; distal part of wing brown, yellowish white opposite tornal and costal spots, sometimes united in a second fascia; cilia silvery white, cilia line distinct. Underside forewing basal 2/3 (in rest in contact with hindwing androconial patch) pale, with very few elongate brown scales only, distal third brown. Hindwing very broad at base, clearly cuspidate towards tip; costal bristles present; upper surface of basal 2/3 covered with a thick indumentum of white raised special scales, interrupted along midline by a distinct, straight, longitudinal furrow, devoid of scales (Figs. 7, 94); costa with a row of short yellowish brown hair scales instead of cilia. Underside white. Abdomen with yellow inconspicuous anal tufts.
Female (Fig. 2). Forewing length 2.3–2.4 mm, wingspan 5.0–5.4 mm. Antenna with 27–29 segments. Forewing underside pale grey-brown, normally covered with scales. Hindwing normal, without special scales.
Male genitalia (Figs. 20, 21, 62). Measurements: see Table 3. Vinculum anteriorly and posteriorly concave. Tegumen rounded, forming obtuse pseuduncus; uncus band-shaped, with indistinct central process, with pair of setae; gnathos with long, pointed central element. Valva at base with long inner process, subterminally with inner process on dorsal surface, apex rounded. Transtilla without transverse bar. Aedeagus with ventral carinae ending in forked lobes, tightly fused to ventral process; pair of lateral, pointed carinae present; vesica with numerous small cornuti and one large, serrate cornutus.
Female genitalia (Fig. 45). T8 with few scales and setae only. Anal papillae with 19–21 setae. Vestibulum with elaborate sclerotisations, partly serrate and densely covered with pectinations. Total bursa length ca. 765μm. Corpus bursae elongate, without pectinations, with very narrow and long reticulate signa (length ca. 420–450 μm), margins crenate. Ductus spermathecae with 2 convolutions and long and conspicuous vesicle.
Final instar larva. Head capsule (Fig. 84) ca. 355–390 μm wide. Mandibular cusps blunt. A9 with 2 pairs of setae. Integument covered with extremely short microtrichia (ca 1μm long), absent on A9 and 10. Otherwise as group description.
Biology. Hostplants Platanus orientalis and planted P. hybrida.
Egg on leaf underside, usually against a vein. Leafmine (Figs. 102, 105) a long gallery with contorted frass, or partly linear frass, or with linear frass throughout, very variable; frass greenish when fresh, later turning brown; exit hole on upper surface. Confusion with other species is not possible, the only other European leafminer on Platanus is Phyllonorycter platani (Staudinger, 1870), which makes tentiform mines, starting with irregular galleries in the epidermis. Mines with thin frass throughout were sometimes considered to belong to a separate species (Hering 1957), but in fact belong to A. platani as well.
Life-history: probably bivoltine, with adults in May-June and again in July-August, larvae are found in June and September to November.
Distribution (Fig. 122). Widespread in southern Europe and western Asia, from Portugal to Iran. It had spread westwards from its original occurrence with Platanus orientalis in the Balkans before 1930, since it was found in western France and Switzerland around that time (Müller-Rutz 1934a; van Nieukerken et al. 2006). Surprisingly this species has not undergone a similar spread as have several Gracillariidae leafminers, such as the Platanus- feeding Phyllonorycter platani (see Sefrová 2001). The northernmost locality for A. platani has for more than 70 years been the region of Paris, where it is still common. A supposed record for The Netherlands was based on a misidentification (Kuchlein 2002; Kuchlein et al. 2003). New records for Menorca, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Turkey.
Remarks. In the original description, Müller-Rutz described and illustrated the male wings as female and vice-versa.
Material examined. 19 ɗ, 18 Ψ, 9 larvae. CYPRUS: 1 larva on slide, Troodos, 1200 m, 28.ix.1990, B. Gustafsson (NHRS).— FRANCE: 3ɗ, 4Ψ, Essonne: Verrières-le-Buisson, Platanus hybrida, e.l. 10.v– 12.vi.1960, R. Buvat (MNHN); 2ɗ, Hérault: Montpellier, 7.vii.1991, P. hybrida, e.l. 8–31.vii.1991, A. & Z. Laštůvka (AL); Var: 3 larvae on slide, Roquebrune-sur-Argens, 28.vii.1979, P. hybrida, J.W. Schoorl (RMNH). — GREECE: 1 larva on slide, Attika, Athínai: ancient Agora, 30.ix.1980, P. orientalis, S.B.J. Menken & E.J. van Nieukerken (RMNH); 2 larvae on slide, Evvoia, Dhírfis Oros, S. slopes, 12.ix.1980, P. orientalis, Menken & van Nieukerken (RMNH); 1ɗ, Lakonia: 7 km SW Monemvasia, 18.vii.1980, G. Christensen (ZMUC); 2 larvae on slide, Samos, [Näktergalsdalen= valley of nightingales], 5.x.1994, B. Gustafsson (NHRS); 1ɗ, Thesprotia: 10 km S Igumenitsa, 25–26.vii.1990, M. Fibiger (ZMUC). — IRAN: 6ɗ, 6Ψ, Tehran, Evin nr Tehran, 14–18.vii.1995, R. Linnavuori (FMNH, RMNH); ITALY: 3ɗ, 6Ψ, Trento: Trento, x– xi.1945, P. hybrida, e.l. v.1946, J. Klimesch (RJ, ZMAN, ZSM); 2ɗ, 2Ψ, 1 pupal skin on slide, Trieste: Trieste, P. hybrida, e.l. 1.v.1934 – 31.v.1934, J. Klimesch (RMNH, ZSM). — TURKEY: 1ɗ, prov. Antalya, Alanya, Mahmutlar, Ruine, 17.v.2005, W. Mey (ZMHB).
Leafmines on Platanus hybrida: CROATIA: Rijeka, in town, 15.x.1983. ITALY: Latium: Roma, Villa Borghese, Zoological garden, 15.ix.2005; Latium: San Severa, 17.ix.2005. For material of many mines from France, Portugal and Spain see van Nieukerken et al. 2004a, 2006. Leafmines on Platanus orientalis: CYPRUS: Troodos, B. Gustafsson (NHRS). GREECE: Attika: Athínai: ancient Agora; Evritanía: Frangísta, 600m, 20.ix.1980; Mt Timfristós, S, slopes above Karpenision, 1300m, 19.ix.1980; Evvoia: 2 km W Prokopion, 13.ix.1980; Dhírfis Oros, S. slopes, 900m, 12.ix.1980; Steni Dhirfios, in village, 400m, 10.ix.1980; Fthiotis: Oíti Oros, N. slope 7 km SW Ipáti, 1400m, 15.ix.1980; Fókis: halfway Lílaia and Polídhroson, river valley, 400m, 28.ix.1980; Ioánnina: Voutonási, valley, 700m, 25.ix.1980 (collected by E. J. van Nieukerken and co-workers, unless noted differently, all in RMNH).
Additional records. BULGARIA: Kresna, 21.x.2004, vacated mines Platanus orientalis, observed, J. Buszko. — GREECE: 1 vacated mine, Lesvos: Parakila, 30.vi.2003, M. Hull (MH); 4ɗ, 3Ψ, Pieria, Leptokaria, 23.vi.1997, A. & Z. Laštůvka (AL). — SPAIN: Baleares, Menorca, 28.x.2006, vacated mines, R. Edmunds.
description: Published as part of Van, Erik J., 2007, Acalyptris Meyrick: revision of the platani and staticis groups in Europe and the Mediterranean (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae), pp. 1-48 in Zootaxa 1436 on pages 9-11, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.273702