Scrobipalpa diversa
Creators: name: Bidzilya, Oleksiy V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Scrobipalpa
Scrobipalpa diversa

description: Scrobipalpa diversa (Janse, 1950)
Figs 37–40, 111, 112, 171, 172
Aristotelia diversa Janse, 1950: 110, Pl. 65, fig. 1, Pl. 63, fig. 3, Pl. 58, fig. 11, Pl. 54, fig. 4, pl. 62, figs 7, 8.
Scrobipalpa diversa (Janse, 1950) — Bidzilya 2007: 101, fig. 44, Pl. 7, fig. 8 (misidentification of S. wolframi sp. nov.).
Type material. Holotype ♂, [Namibia] “Abachaus, SWA, July 41, G. Hobohm ” | “g. 6052” | “ Aristotelia diversa Janse, ♂, Type No. 3095” (TMSA). Paratypes: 2 ♀, Abachaus, SWA, Feb. 43, G. Hobohm | g. 6051| Aristotelia diversa Janse, ♀, Cotype No. 3096, 3097 (TMSA).
Material examined. 1 ♀, [Namibia] Abachaus, S.W.A., July, 44 (Hobohm) (gen. slide 36/13, O. Bidzilya) (TMSA); 1 ♂, Abachaus, S.W.A., May, 43 (Hobohm) (gen. slide g. 8527); 1 ♀, Abachaus, S.W.A., Feb, 44 (Hobohm); 1 ♀, Abachaus, S.W.A., 1.ii.1950 (Hobohm); 1 ♀, Abachaus, S.W.A., April, 43 (Hobohm) (gen. slide 130/21, O. Bidzilya) (all TMSA).
Diagnosis. The species is characterized by a light, straw-yellow forewing with brown suffusion and indistinct brown markings. Based on external features alone, it can hardly be separated from specimens of S. concreta which have a reduced brown pattern. For differences from S. wolframi sp. nov. see the diagnosis of that species. The male genitalia of S. diversa resemble those of S. concreta and S. subroseata, though the sacculus is broader and less narrowed apically.
Re-description. Adult (Figs 37–40). Wingspan 14–17 mm. Head, thorax and tegulae straw yellow, with diffuse brown-tipped scales in some specimens; labial palpus upcurved, concolorous with head, palpomere 2 mixed with brown on lower and outer surface, palpomere 3 slightly more than 1/2 length and 1/3–1/2 width of segment 2, acute, with brown subapical ring and some brown-tipped scales; scape light brown, flagellomeres light brown with yellow rings; forewing straw yellow, more or less distinctly mixed with light brown along termen, costal margin with indistinct light brown suffusion, very diffuse basal block and indistinct elongated spot at 1/2 and 2/3 of costa, two brown spots in cell, brown dash in fold, cilia yellow brown-tipped; hindwing and cilia light grey.
Male genitalia (Figs 111, 112). Uncus longer than broad; gnathos short, slender, weakly curved; culcitula well developed, elongated; tegumen moderately elongated; valva gradually curved and weakly constricted in middle, apex rounded, extending to top of uncus; sacculus about 1/3 length of valva, about as broad as valva at base, subrectangular, weakly tapered apically, separated from valva by wide gap; vincular processes narrow, triangular, nearly as long as sacculus, rounded or weakly tapered apically, gap to sacculus indistinct; vinculum slightly broader than long, medial incision U-shaped; saccus moderately broad, weakly narrowed apically, extending slightly beyond top of pedunculus; phallus straight, caecum rounded, strongly inflated, 1/2–1/3 length of phallus, apex pointed with downwards curved hook.
Female genitalia (Figs 171, 172). Papillae anales ovate, densely covered with setae; apophyses posteriores about 2.5 times as long as apophyses anteriores; segment VIII twice as broad as long, both anterior and posterior margins evenly invaginated, subgenital plates broad, without modification, lobes of ventromedial depression ovate or teardrop-shaped, densely covered with foam-sculpturing, slightly edged anteriorly, separated by narrow triangular anteromedial incision, extending to anterior margin of segment VIII; apophyses anteriores as long as or slightly shorter than segment VIII, very slender, rod-like; ductus bursae slightly longer than corpus bursae, of uniform width, colliculum distinct, band-shaped; signum with broad basal plate, distal hook slender, long, posterior edge with short medial tooth, situated on right side before middle of corpus bursae.
Biology. Host plant unknown. Adults fly in February, April and July.
Distribution. Namibia.
Remarks. The species was described from the male holotype and two females collected in Abachaus (Namibia). The records from Brandberg (Bidzilya 2007: 101) should be referred to S. wolframi sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Bidzilya, Oleksiy V., 2021, A review of the genus Scrobipalpa Janse, 1951 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) in the Afrotropical region, pp. 1-83 in Zootaxa 5070 (1) on pages 20-21, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5070.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5712529