Polylopha vietnama Heppner & Bae 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Heppner, John B.
name: Bae, Yang-Seop
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tortricidae
Polylopha
Polylopha vietnama

description: Polylopha vietnama Heppner & Bae, sp. nov.
(Figs. 1–5)
Type locality. Vietnam: Yan Yen, Yen Bai Prov.
Type material. Holotype. [Vietnam] female, Yen Bai Prov., Yan Yen, 2021, Quang et al. (gen. slide JBH˗4119; adult photo 15107) (MGCL). Paratypes (n = 9) Vietnam: same data as holotype (MGCL). Added specimens (n = 68): Yen Bai Prov.: 13 Oct 2019 (2♂, 1♀), 14 Oct 2019 (1♂, 1♀), 15 Oct 2019 (1♂, 1♀), 16 Oct 2019 (1♂, 1♀), 17 Oct 2019 (1♂), 18 Oct 2019 (1♀); 21 Jul 2020 (3♂), 22 Jul 2020 (2♂, 2♀), 23 Jul 2020 (1♂, 5♀), 24 Jul 2020 (2♂, 3♀), 25 Jul 2020 (1♀), 26 Jul 2020 (1♂); 7 Jun 2021 (1♂, 5f), 8 Jun 2021 (2♂, 2f), 9 Jun 2021 (2♂, 7f) #, 10 Jun 2021 (1♂, 1♀), 11 Jun 2021 (1♂, 1♀), 12 Jun 2021 (1♀), Quang et al. (VAFS). Quang Ngai Prov.: Tra Bong, 19 Jul 2020 (4♂), 20 Jul 2020 (2♀), 21 Jul 2020 (2♀), 22 Jul 2020 (2♀), 23 Jul 2020 (1♂), 24 Jul 2020 (2♂), Quang et al. (VAFS).
Diagnosis. This species is very similar in wing maculation to the related L. cassiicola from southern China and the Ryukyu Is. (Japan), but is distinctive in the female genitalia with its large arrowhead-like signum acutely pointed cephalad (bulbously horn-shaped and rounded cephalad in L. cassiicola); the male genitalia are very similar but the saccular margin is curved (relatively straight in L. cassiicola) and the saccular process has a long basal carina (short in L. cassiicola).
Description. Wing expanse: 9.3mm male (n=1), 10–12.6mm females (n=9).
Male (Fig. 1a). Head (Fig. 2): vertex and frons light brown with scales white-tipped, with basal anterior margin and eye margins white; labial palpus mottled brown and white (mesally mostly white), with diffuse dark brown bands (scales white-tipped) on segments 1 and 2, and on apex.
Thorax: mottled dark brown and tan, and posteriorly mostly white; patagia mostly white, mixed with tan; tegula mottled brown and tan, scales white-tipped; venter mottled white with dark brown; leg femurs mottled gray-brown (mesally tan-white); fore- and midtibia dark brown (mesally dull gray-white) with scales white-tipped and with median band of white; hindtibia brown (mesally dull white) with white on distal end; hind tarsi brown with rings of white at intersegments.
Forewing (Fig. 1a): mottled brown and tan, with basal 1/3 mostly dark brown with some dull white along costal margin; on midwing 1/3 a large cream-white patch angled from costa to small black spot in cell, then tapering more tan colored to thinner area on dorsal margin nearer to tornus; distal 1/3 mottled brown and tan, with indistinctly patterned dark brown lines and spots, generally angled from costa to tornus; a submarginal line of white next to a marginal dark brown line, from below gray-brown apical area to tornus; fringe gray-brown; venter brown, with tan on costal margin.
Hindwing (Fig. 1a): bronze-brown with veins highlighted in dark gray-brown; venter brown with dull white irrorations mixed with dark brown on distal 1/3.
Abdomen (Fig. 1): dark gray-brown, with yellow-tan on T1-3, and silvery posterior margin on each tergite; ventrum silvery cream-white, with flecks of brown; genital tuft silvery gray, with cream-white ventrally, lustrous white laterally; sternum 8 (Fig. 4b) enmeshed with male valvae which enclose the large lateral corematal tufts, and medially with small rounded margin; sternum 7 (Fig. 4d) simple.
Male genitalia (Fig. 4): tegumen triangular, with stout and thin uncus projected dorsally to recurved blunt apex, as semi-circular tube-like form; gnathos (Fig. 3b) as stout arms convergent into a thin median projection with acute apex and numerous dorsal spines; juxta-anellus (Fig. 4b) quadratic with lateral setose margins and dorsal merging carinae (medially recurved); valva (Fig. 4c) elongated and evenly setose (setal patches somewhat loner dorsally than in saccular region), medially split dorsally to form internal pouches (holding the 8 th segment corematal tufts), with saccular and costal margins evenly rounded to meet at semi-acute apex; sclerotized saccular projection at near midvalva and distally recurved, with long basal carina; aedeagus (Fig. 4a) long and thin, tapering distally thinner and apex acute with single dorsal thorn; cornutus a single thin spine; saccus (Fig. 3b) V-shaped, relatively short.
Female (Fig. 1b), like male but somewhat lighter wing maculation and genital tuft lacking white laterally.
Female genitalia (Fig. 5): ovipositor relatively short (shorter than length of abdomen segment 8), with large setose papilla anales; ostium circular; sterigma (Fig. 5a) a semi-circular truncated funnel narrowing cephalad, with an anterior fold recurved cephalad as two bulges; ductus bursae with strong colliculum-like section cephalad from antrum to half ductus length, then membranous but of equal width, with large round accessory bursa emergent at colliculum-ductus boundary from narrow duct (equal in length to membranous section of ductus bursae); bursa copulatrix ovate, rounded; signum (Fig. 5b) arrowhead-shaped and strongly sclerotized, with thin internal (dorsal) carina ending cephalad at pointed apex.
Etymology. The species is named after the host country of Vietnam.
Biology. Larvae are twig and shoot borers of cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia (L.) D. Don.) (Lauraceae) in Vietnam. In northern Vietnam (Yen Bai Prov.), reared adults emerged from mid-June to mid-Oct during 2019-21 (Quang, pers. comm.). The related L. cassiicola and several species of Lopharcha also feed on cinnamon trees, either as leaf rollers or twig borers (Liu and Kawabe 1993; Nasu 2008, 2021). In repose, adults fold the wings over the abdomen (Fig. 3).
Distribution. Known only from northern Vietnam (Quang Ngai Prov. and Yen Bai Prov.).
Discussion. The new species is a sister-species of L. cassiicola but with distinct genital characters evident (e.g., the different signa of the two species). The wing maculation of the two species are nearly identical: specimens of L. cassiicola were not available for critical study of the maculation and other body characters in detail, but from the illustration of the adult by Nasu (2021) it appears that L. cassiicola has a more distinct apical whitish fascia (not clearly evident in L. vietnama) and possibly the basal dark region has a more distinct distal margin than is evident in L. vietnama. Examination of the genitalia is certainly required to verify the identity of the two species.
NOTE: In our study of the species descriptions for various Lopharcha and Polylopha species, we find that L. ditissima Diakonoff (1974), from Indonesia (Java), does not belong in Lopharcha, as the genitalia clearly align with those of P. cassiicola and P. vietnama (e.g., in the female the signum being a solid form with a stout carina), and hereby transfer the species to Polylopha, as P. ditissima (Diakonoff), n. comb.
Diakonoff (1974) incorrectly stated a colliculum (which can be interpreted simply as a sclerotized section of the ductus bursae) was absent in Polylopha, yet it is as prominent as in Lopharcha which he noted did have it present, but short, while in Polylopha it is long.
description: Published as part of Heppner, John B. & Bae, Yang-Seop, 2022, A new Polylopha species attacking cinnamon trees in Vietnam (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Chlidanotinae: Polyorthini), pp. 280-286 in Zootaxa 5100 (2) on pages 281-285, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5100.2.7, http://zenodo.org/record/6145801