Nemophora chrysoprasias
Creators: name: Kozlov, Mikhail V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Adelidae
Nemophora
Nemophora chrysoprasias

description: Nemophora chrysoprasias (Meyrick, 1907)
(Figs. 37, 38, 90, 122, 153)
Nemotois chrysoprasias: Meyrick 1907: 992.
Lectotype ♁ (here designated): India, Meghalaya, Khasi Hills (approx. 25 o 35′ N, 91 o 36′ E); labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘Lecto-│type’; 4 × 9 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills, │ Assam. │.10.1906’; 13 × 16 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ chrysoprasias │ 4/11 Meyr. │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 20 mm, print ‘ LECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois chrysoprasias │ Meyrick, 1907 │M. Kozlov design. 2005’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotypes. 6 ♁ 4 ♀, labeled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘Para-│ lecto-│type’; 4 × 9 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills, │ Assam. │.mo.1906’; 13 × 16 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ chrysoprasias │ x/11 Meyr. │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’ [Males: x=2, 3 & mo=10; x=8, 9, 11 & mo=9; x=10 and mo=7. Females: x=1 & mo=10; x=5, 6, 7 & mo=7]; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’. 2 ♁ 1 ♀, labeled: 4 × 7 mm, black ink ‘N26’; 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘Para-│lecto-│type’; 7 × 15 mm, print ‘Khasi Hills │ ex Coll. Meyrick’; 12 × 18 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ chrysoprasias Meyr. │ Meyrick det. 1916 │ COTYPE’; 7 × 14 mm, print ‘Presented by │ R. L. E. Ford. │ B. M. 1949–487’. All paralectotypes bear the label: 8 × 20 mm, print ‘ PARALECTOTYPE ♁ [or ♀] │ Nemotois chrysoprasias │ Meyrick, 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2005’ (NHM) [examined].
Nemotois chrysoprasias: Meyrick 1912a: 7, fig. 1 (male, external appearance, in colour), 1912b: 8; Clarke 1955: 89.
Nematois [sic!] chrysoprasias: Showalter 1929: 72, pl. XV fig. 14 (colour photograph of a male).
Nemophora chrysoprasias: Das & Singh 2022: 264; Hirowatari et al. 2022: 393‒396, figs. 1‒4.
Other material. India. Meghalaya. 5 ♁ 2 ♀, Cherrapunji, vii.1894; 10 ♁ 9 ♀, ibid., x.1894 (NHM); 1 ♁, Khasi Hills (USNM). Myanmar. 3 ♁, Chin-Hillis 8 miles Camp 2500 m, 6‒8.x.2002 (Mey) (ZMHB).
Diagnosis. From all Nemophora species recorded in India and Sri Lanka N. chrysoprasias differs by the light metallic green forewing with the bright yellow medial band of the fascia in combination with the white basal 0.7 of hindwing. Nemophora chrysoprasias also resembles N. cantharites (Meyrick, 1928) known from Phillipines only (Kozlov & Robinson 1996), from which it differs by the absence of sexual dimorphism (forewing of N. cantharites is light brown in males and dark brown, with indigo-blue iridescence, in females), narrower forewing, glossy golden frons, light metallic green colour of forewing, longer vinculum and fused valvae.
Description. Male (Fig. 37). FWL 8.7‒9.2 mm, WLR 0.33‒0.35.Vertex covered by yellow and dark brown piliform scales; frons glossy golden, marginally with dense rows of yellow to white piliform scales. PLB 0.9‒1.1 × vertical eye diameter (2.2‒2.7 × length of scape), densely covered with raised piliform scales, which are white on internal side and brown on external side of palpus. Proboscis light brown, base with dark coppery brown scales. Eyes enlarged, but not touching each other; interocular index 1.1‒1.3; occipital distance 0.10‒0.15. Antenna 2.9‒3.1 × FWL. Scape and base of flagellum brown, then colour of flagellum gradually changes to light brown; basal 7‒12 flagellomeres dorsally slightly thickened by appressed brown scales; 10‒20 flagellomeres at the level of forewing facia laterally bright white. Tegulae and thorax glossy golden. Forewing (Fig. 90) light metallic green, with small dark brown spot at the base of costa; distal part (except costal area) sparsely scattered with dark brown scales. Fascia consists of narrow (0.04‒0.08 × FWL) medial bright yellow band bordered on both sides by narrow dark brown lines and surrounded by silver bands, which are slightly narrower than yellow band; internal margin of yellow band reaches costa at 0.4 × FWL; dark brown triangular spots outside silver bands extend from costal margin to 0.5‒0.6 × forewing width. Fringe dark brown to bronze. Basal 0.7 of hindwing white, translucent, contrasting with dark coppery brown apical part; costal area grey; fringe white basally to brown apically. Fore and mid legs brown, except for basal part of all tarsomeres, which are white; fore tibia with dense tuft of dark brown scales. Hind legs white, except for apical parts of tibia and of all tarsomeres, which are brown; tibia with dense cover of white piliform scales. Epiphysis at 0.3, very short, not reaching apex of tibia. Abdomen brown, ventrally scattered with white scales, which in some specimens make it almost entirely white.
Female (Fig. 38). FWL 7.2‒8.3 mm. Antenna 1.25‒1.35 × FWL, basal 0.4 densely covered with dark coppery brown scales that are semi-erect distally, forming characteristic scale-thickening; then follows a short (0.15 × length of antenna) white part of flagellum; distal part of flagellum brown; border between white and brown parts is sharp. Otherwise similar to male.
Male genitalia (Figs. 122, 153). Tegumen dome-shaped, with small medial ridge. Socii elongate, 1.8 × diameter of phallus. Vinculum 3.1‒3.2 × length of valva, V-shaped, with almost straight, well-sclerotized lateral margins and gently W-shaped distal margin. Tip of tegumen slightly extends beyond tips of valvae. Both ventral and dorsal valvar margins almost straight; tip of valva widely rounded. Valvae fused basally up to 0.35‒0.40 × total length; their internal margins distinct. Anellus 0.4 × length of valva. Transtilla with wide triangular medial process. Juxta 0.5 × length of phallus; arrow head narrow (WLR 0.4), with pointed tip and short pointed lateral arms. Phallus 1.20‒1.25 × length of vinculum, gently C-shaped; base of phallus narrowly funnel-shaped, tip flattened laterally and forms narrow wave-shaped lobe.
Distribution. India (Meghalaya), Myanmar.
Comments. Meyrick (1907) based his description on 30 syntypes collected in September and October. However, only 11 specimens have been found in Meyrick’s collection; among them, one male and four females were collected in July. Although July was not mentioned as the collectiong date, I consider all these specimens as syntypes; whereabouts of the remaining 19 syntypes remain unknown.
Biology. In Myanmar the moths were collected at about 10.00 a. m. when swarming over small bushes on a side of a trail in the forest (W. Mey, pers. comm.).
description: Published as part of Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2023, Fairy moths of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg, 1798 (Lepidoptera: Adelidae) of India and Sri Lanka, pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 5300 (1) on pages 30-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5300.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8012772