Yponomeuta morbillosa Zeller 1877
Creators: name: Agassiz, David J. L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Yponomeutidae
Yponomeuta
Yponomeuta morbillosa

description: 17. Yponomeuta morbillosa Zeller, 1877
Hyponomeuta morbillosa Zeller, 1877: 222–223
Type locality: Tanzania: Zanzibar
Redescription of adult (Plate 3). Wingspan 21–33 mm. Head white with two black dots on dorsum; antenna with scape white, followed by a black ring, then finely annulated grey/whitish, over half length of forewing; labial palpus white, black between each segment. Thorax greyish white with five black spots, tegula white with one black spot. Forewing smooth pale grey with a scattering of white dots, three rows of black dots along length of wing, further black dots in terminal area, a darker grey suffusion in disc, terminal area slightly paler, terminal fringe grey. Hindwing uniform grey. Legs pale grey with black spots on joints. Abdomen grey dorsally, paler ventrally.
Male genitalia (Plate 11). Uncus saddle-shaped, socius long, each bearing a spine at apex; valva with costa straight, almost forming a D-shape, saccus fairly long with end clubbed. Aedeagus of length equal to that from socius to saccus, with two long, slender cornuti. Sternum 7 with central pointed protrusion.
Female genitalia (Plate 21). Lamella postvaginalis broad, with narrow excavation to ostium, ostial chamber conical; ductus bursae with some spiculation; corpus bursae almost spherical bearing a long signum with spines forming a central pattern.
Biology. Bred from Elaeodendron. Birnie & Noad (2011) state that ’’trees are sometimes covered in webs made by black-banded caterpillars’’ which clearly refers to this species. Gardner (1957) states ’’Defoliates Elaeodendron sp., large trees may be completely shrouded by whitish webbing; pupae aggregated in thick mats at base of tree; in July 1951 there was 30% parasitism by a species of Tachinidae.’’Adults taken in every month except February and May, probably all year round.
Distribution. Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe.
Type material. 3 syntypes (MfN) not examined.
Material examined: KENYA: 3 ♂ 1 ♀ Nairobi xi.1923, 1 ♀ 11.vi.1919 Dr van Someren; 2 ♂ R.H. Deakin 1913; 2 ♂ 1 ♀ 1950 J.M.C. Gardner, larvae on Elaeodendron; 1 ♀ xi–xii.1932, 1 ♂ iv.1932 E. Pinhey; 1 ♀ vii.1950 R. Carcasson; 1 ♀ vii. 1950 J.C.M. Gardner; 1 without abdomen i.1926; 1 ♂ Muguga 28.vi.1971 E.S. Brown; 5 ♂ 8 ♀ Escarpment, 7500–8500 ft, Kikuyu: Ibea ix–x.1900 Doherty; 3 ♀ Kabete 1920 H.E. Box; 1 ♀ 20.xi.1918 T.J. Anderson; 1 ♂ Kabele.1920 FWD; 1 ♂ 4 ♀ Kitale 1.v.1924 G.W. Jeffery; 1 ♀ 13.viii.1932 G.W. Jeffery; 2 ♂ 4 ♀ E. Africa 1950 ex Dono J.C.M. Gardner; 1 without abdomen Mt Elgon S.E. 18 m SE of Kitale viii.1932 T.J.E. Jackson; NAL Kenya 19.i.1982 Wdenesil (NHMUK); 1 ♂ Central, Aberdares Country Club 0°20ʼS 36°53ʼE 6000 ft, 27.iv.2003, D.J.L. Agassiz DJLA slide 1186 ♂; Aberdares Country Club, 2 ♂ 19.vi.1999, 1 ♂ 2 ♀ 1.vi.2000; 1 ♂ Nairobi, Oluloa Forest, 6000 ft, 20.xii.1999; 2 ♂ 15.viii.1999 (DJLA); 8 specimens Townsend, Nakuru, bred. Nos. 429, 430, 440–443, 448 – 938 specimens from Nairobi, Karen, Dagoretti; 1 Loretto Ridge (Nbi), 2 Kathile River, Meruk (193A). (NMK); 1 specimen, Nairobi (MNHNP); 1 ♀ Laikipia Plateau, Mpala Research Centre 0.293°N 36.890°E 1650 m 15–20.vi.2007 S.E. Miller (USNM 00719408); Aberdares Nat. Park 6.iv.2000 Saliend Camping site 2073 m 0°22’S 36°54’E Ugo Dall’Asta MRAC ENT 000006435; TANZANIA: 1 ♀ Amani iii.1964, 1 without abdomen xi. 1962 G. Pringle coll. (NHMUK); ZIMBABWE: Mana P. N.P, Jesse Bush, 15°46.155’S 29°22.979’E 18.i.2007 Jürgen Lenz legit. (TMSA).
description: Published as part of Agassiz, David J. L., 2019, The Yponomeutidae of the Afrotropical region (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea), pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4600 (1) on page 17, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4600.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4000391