Nemophora wegneri Kozlov 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kozlov, Mikhail V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Adelidae
Nemophora
Nemophora wegneri

description: Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 37C2CA18-18CE-45CF-A632-FF1258E1DEB6
(Figs. 5, 6, 12, 18)
Holotype ♂: Indonesia, Sumba Island, Mao Marroe (approx. 9º 58’ 30” S, 120º 30’ 45” E); labelled: 8 mm circle with red border, print ‘Holo- │ type’; 9 × 13 mm, print ‘[K. W.] Dammerman [leg.]│ O. Soemba │ 450 M. │ Mao Marroe │ V. 1925 ’; 6 × 18 mm, print ‘HOLOTYPE ♂ │ Nemophora │ wegneri Kozlov’ (RMNH) [examined]. Paratypes. 5 ♂ 2 ♀, labelled: 8 mm circle with yellow border, print ‘Para- │ type’; 6 × 14 mm, print ‘W. Sumba, 500 m │ Pogobina, ix 1949 │ Sutter & Wegner’. 6 ♂, labelled: 6 × 14 mm, print ‘W. Sumba, 500 m │ Pogobina, ix 1949 │ Sutter & Wegner’. 1 ♂, labelled: 8 mm circle with yellow border, print ‘Para- │ type’; 7 × 14 mm, print ‘ C. Sumba, 4‒500 m │ Lindi Watju │ 27.ix‒15.x.1949 │ Sutter & Wegner’. All paratypes bear the label: 6 × 18 mm, print ‘PARATYPE ♂ [or ♀] │ Nemophora │ wegneri Kozlov’ (all in RMNH) [examined].
Diagnosis. Nemophora wegneri is most similar to N. umbronitidella (Figs. 3, 4), from which it differs by the bright yellow posterior margin of the otherwise dark brown metathorax (in males only), shorter male antennae, dark brown scape, and a long phallus (1.1 × length of the vinculum) with a prominent ventral lobe near the apex.
Description. Male (Fig. 5). FWL 5.3‒5.9 mm, WLR 0.36‒0.42. Vertex with dark brown to brown piliform scales along occipital margin and above antennal sockets, and pale yellow scales between compound eyes; frons glossy golden. PLB 0.45‒0.55 × vertical eye diameter, ochreous brown, with sparse raised dark brown scales. Proboscis light brown, base laterally with bronze to coppery bronze scales which, however, do not form a tuft. Eyes enlarged, occipitally closely approaching; interocular index 1.15‒1.35; occipital distance 0.05‒0.15.Antenna 2.9‒3.5 × FWL. Scape dark brown, ventrally in some specimens with a few yellow scales; basal 0.6‒0.7 of flagellum with alternating rings of dark brown and white scales; apical part of flagellum silver to white. Tegulae dark brown with bronze tint; thorax dark brown, except for bright yellow posterior margin of mesothorax. Forewing (Fig. 12) bright yellow with ochreous pattern. Basal field with two glossy golden longitudinal stripes; costal margin dark brown; external border oblique, reaching costa at 0.35 and dorsum at 0.25 × FWL. Oblique stripe next to basal field at costa narrower than at dorsum (0.13 vs. 0.22 × FWL, respectively), ochreous, clearly contrasting yellow colour of forewing base, except for narrow glossy bronze lines preceding dark brown margins. Transverse band and oblique band linking costa with outer wing margin bright yellow, bordered near wing margins by dotted narrow lines of dark brown scales and in medial zone of forewing by narrow glossy golden lines; yellow spot expands along outer wing margin up to wing apex. Bronze background of distal part of forewing suffused with ochreous scales forming compact spot along external border of oblique ochreous band. Fringe bronze, with few ochreous scales forming dotted marginal line. Hindwing brown, with coppery tint; costal area grey; fringe brown. Legs glossy bronze to yellow; apices of tibiae and all tarsomeres brown. Epiphysis at 0.5, reaching apex of tibia. Abdomen brown to bronze.
Female (Fig. 6). FWL 5.0‒6.0 mm. Antenna 1.5‒1.6 × FWL, basal 0.30‒0.35 of flagellum dorsally with dense cover of raised scales forming very thick brush, which is ochreous yellow except for tip where its colour turns to dark brown; distal part of flagellum dark bronze, with irregular markings of white scales. Tegulae and thorax bright yellow. Otherwise similar to male.
Male genitalia (Fig. 18). Tegumen dome-shaped, with small medial ridge. Socii oval, 1.2 × medial diameter of phallus. Vinculum 2.6‒2.7 × length of valva, with slightly convex lateral margins and gently W-shaped distal margin. Tips of valvae at about same level as tip of tegumen. Ventral margin of valva with small lobe at 0.6 × total length; dorsal valvar margin almost straight; tip of valva pointed. Valvae fused basally up to 0.3 × total length and also fused to vinculum; internal valvar margins indistinct. Anellus 0.3 × length of valva. Transtilla with wide triangular medial process. Juxta 0.55 × length of phallus; arrow head triangular, extremely wide (WLR 1.3), with pointed tip and pointed lateral arms. Phallus 1.1 × length of vinculum, in lateral view gently S-shaped; tip pointed, with prominent ventral lobe; base of phallus narrowly bell-shaped.
Distribution. Indonesia, Sumba Island.
Etymology. The species is named in honour of A. M. R. Wegner, a former director of the Zoological Museum in Bogor, Indonesia, a renowned insect collector, and a well-known specialist on the fauna of the Tengger Mountains, who collected most of the specimens of this species.
Comments. The coordinates of the type locality (Mao Marroe) were identified using a map published by Dammerman (1926).
description: Published as part of Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2024, Description of six new species forming the sumbana species group of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg (Lepidoptera, Adelidae) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia, pp. 111-122 in Zootaxa 5543 (1) on pages 117-119, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5543.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/14385298