Elachista (Aphelosetia) gilvula Kaila, 2012, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kaila, Lauri
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Elachistidae
Elachista
Elachista gilvula

description: Elachista (Aphelosetia) gilvula sp. nov.
(Figs. 5, 6, 12, 17)
Type material. Holotype 3: Russia: Tuva, 50°40´N 92°58’E, 750 m, L. Ubsa-Noor, shore meadow/Nanophyton steppe 15.VI.1996 J. Jalava & J. Kullberg leg., L. Kaila prep. 4401, MZH). Paratypes (16 3 3 Ƥ): 14 3 3 Ƥ with the same collecting data as in the holotype, L. Kaila prep. 1658, 1660, 1672, 1673, 1674, 1940, 3978, 4398, 4400, 4402, 4407, 4409, 5347, 5352, 5353 (MZH); 50°45´N 94°25’E, 1250 m, E. Tannu-Ola Mts., 5 km ENE Khol- Oozha, steppe slopes, 16.-19.VI. 1995 2 3 J. Jalava & J. Kullberg leg. (L. Kaila prep. 1669, 1942, MZH). Other material. Kazakhstan 48°38’39’’N 57°54’57’’E Kumzhargan sands by Emba river, 200 m, 5.VI. 2011 2 3 K. Nupponen leg., L. Kaila prep. 5559 (Coll. Nupponen).
Diagnosis. Elachista gilvula is externally a typical representative of E. pollinariella assemblage of species with creamy white forewing ground colour. It is nearly unicolorous with only a few scattered black-tipped scales, and a dark grey fringe line along termen. The lack of denser peppering of dark scales may exclude several of the other related species. Together with the ground colour these traits also distinguish it from E. hedemanni that has been found in abundance together with E. gilvula. The slender phallus with long cornutus, and the narrow digitate process distinguish E. gilvula from other species close to E. hedemanni. The female genitalia of E. gilvula are similar to those of E. hedemanni, but the papillae anales are distally rounded in E. gilvula, pointed in E. hedemanni. The colliculum is not sclerotized in E. gilvula and its ductus bursae is without internal sclerotizations, unlike E. hedemanni.
Description. Wingspan 8.5–9.5 mm. Length of labial palpus 1.2 times diameter of head, creamy white, second segment fuscous below. Head, neck tuft, scape and pedicel of antenna creamy white. Flagellum grey, slightly serrate in distal third. Thorax creamy white. Fore leg outwardly brownish grey, legs otherwise creamy white. Forewing ground colour creamy white with concolorous fringe scales, with a few dark tipped scales, and indistinct fringe line formed of dark tipped broader fringe scales; basal third of costa narrowly black. Hindwing grey, with yellowish grey fringe scales; underside of both wings grey, fringe scales yellowish white.
Male genitalia. Uncus lobes about 1.5 times as long as wide, distally rounded, with a few setae laterodistally, separated by V-shaped incision. Length of gnathos half of that of uncus, oval, three times as long as wide, tapered towards pointed apex. Valva four times as long as wide at its widest point in the basal 1/3 and in cucullus, costa convex in basal third, emarginated distally; sacculus straight, joins cucullus at a right angle; distal margin of cucullus rounded. Digitate process extending to 1/3 length of valva, basally narrow, distally a little expanded at costal side, distally setose, obliquely tapered into pointed apex. Juxta lobe as long as digitate process, longest mesially, mesial margin of juxta lobe straight, meeting distal margin through small round connection at 45° angle, distal margin a little concave, setose, lateral margin concave, laterally produced and joined to valval process. Median plate of juxta without dorsally projected lobe. Vinculum short and broad, V-shaped. Phallus as long as valva, S-shaped, about 15 times as long as wide, nearly parallel-sided; coecum rounded; distal opening extended to distal 3/4 of phallus. Vesica distally with large granulose area, with elongate cornutus that is formed of long and narrow, twisted plate-shaped basal part and short straight horn-shaped distal part; length of cornutus 4 x diameter of phallus.
Female genitalia. Papillae anales triangular-shaped in lateral aspect, twice as long as broad in their broadest place, apically rounded, ventral margin straight. Apophyses posteriores slender, straight, as long as papillae anales. Apophyses anteriores as long as apophyses posteriores. Ostium bursae in anterior margin of tergum 8, shaped by folding of membrane, width varying from nearly half to the whole of the distance between apophyses anteriores; no distinctive antrum present; colliculum weakly sclerotized, twice as long as apophyses; ductus seminalis inserted posterior to colliculum; anterior part of ductus bursae tubular, membranous, twice the length of colliculum, increasingly granulose towards corpus bursae; corpus bursae broad, oval, with coarse internal granules except at anterior end; signum large, laterally slightly dentate, broad plate.
Biology. Immature stages are unknown. Adult specimens have been found sitting on low vegetation and in active flight around sunset. The habitat was xerothermic nanophyton steppe with very sparse vegetation. Distribution. Kazakhstan; Russia: Tuva.
Remarks. The specimens from Kazakshtan are excluded from the type series due to the great geographic distance to the type locality.
description: Published as part of Kaila, Lauri, 2012, On species related to Elachista hedemanni Rebel (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae: Elachistinae), with descriptions of three new Palearctic species, pp. 28-39 in Zootaxa 3316 on pages 36-38, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.281105