Lithostege excelsata Erschov
Creators: name: Sh, Hossein Rajaei
name: Stüning, Dieter
name: Viidalepp, Jaan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Lithostege
Lithostege excelsata

description: L. excelsata (Erschov)
(Figs. 3, 34, 60; Map 1)
Anaitis excelsata Erschov, 1874: 70, pl. 4, fig. 71. Holotype Ƥ not traced. Type locality: Turkestan: Kisil-Kum desert near Baїbek, 30 April.
Lithostege excelsata: Prout, 1914: 174, pl. 8a; Viidalepp, 1996: 46; Parsons et al., 1999: 546.
Material examined. 37 3, 29 Ƥ: 1 Ƥ, 1 3, [Turkmenistan] Askhabat, coll. Great Knjaz Nikolaj Mikhajlovich, 25.4.[?] excelsata Chr. [a piece of green paper]; coll. ZISP. 4 3, 1 Ƥ: USSR, Turkmenia, Dzahar, Kurgan, 15.4.1966, leg. Ganson V.A., Coll. K.Krušek; 1 3, 1 Ƥ: Tekke [Akhal-Tekke, Turkmenistan]; 7 3 Ƥ: Merw [Merv, E Turkmenistan]; 1 3: Turkmenistan, Karakum des. SW, 40 km NE Gizilarbat, 1996.05.03.-06, leg. Miatleuski J., leg. Povilaitis A.; 1 Ƥ: Kasachstan, Balchasch-See, Ümgeb. Wüste Sary-Tankum, bei Fl. Jli, 1.- 2.V. [19]67, gen. prep. 1617/2011 H. R.; all in ZFMK. 2 3: USSR, Turkmenia, Kara-Kum desert, 100 m, 50 km N of Ashkhabad, 58°33'E, 38°21'N, 29.IV.1991, No. L12, leg. G. Csorba, Gy. Fabian, B. Herczig, M. Hreblay & G. Ronkay, preps 1018/2010 and 1019/2010 H. R.; both in ZSM. 1 3: Central Kara-Kum desert, water-bed Kirpili [100 km] northwest to Kyzyl-Arvat; 3/Ƥ: Kopet-Dagh Mts.: Kyzyl-Arvat, Geok-Tepe; in ZIAT. 8 3 Ƥ: „Turkmeenia” [Turkmenistan] 1977, Uzboi [river-bed], Yashan, 27.04–02.05, J.V. leg.; 2 3, the same locality but 20.05. [19]92, T. Kesküla leg.; 12 3 Ƥ: „Turkmeenia” [Turkmenistan] 1977, Repetek, 16–17.04, leg. (gen. prep. 3417, 7646, J.V.); 20 3 Ƥ: „Turkmeenia” [Turkmenistan] 1977, Lambe at Amu-Darja, 20.04, J.V. leg; 1 Ƥ: Zhamansai, Kyzylkum, Uzbek [istan], 27.04. [19]72, Falkovitsh leg.; all in IZBE. Preparations of genitalia: 3 3, 2 Ƥ.
Description & Diagnosis. Wingspan 22–26 mm. Easily recognized by the light grey forewings with numerous transverse grey and black lines (Fig. 3), the postmedial and also the posterior two thirds of the antemedial lines being separated medially by a faint black line and slightly angled outwards at veins M3-CuA1, by the small, rounded, greyish-white hindwings, powdered with black scales, with a thin, black marginal line. Underside of forewings almost without any pattern elements, there is only a short, black line near costa at postmedial position. In the male genitalia (Fig. 34), the plain, apically rounded valve without a basal process, the long and narrow uncus and the triangularly elongated saccus are distinctive. Similar male genitalia are only present in L. distinctata, but in the latter species, the valves are shorter, their costa terminating in a rounded, lobe-like process; the uncus is broad at base and rather short and stout; the female genitalia (Fig. 60) are also distinctive by a triangular antrum and a weakly developed colliculum, the ductus bursae being narrow, elongated, membranous like the globular corpus bursae, the latter with very tiny spines internally and without a diverticulum. Antevaginal sclerotization narrow, strap-like. Female genitalia in L. distinctata are also membranous, corpus bursae without internal spines, but the latter is elongate-oval in shape and a colliculum is absent.
Bionomics. Larvae feed on Astragalus (sect. Ammodendron) (Falkovitsh, 1986). Specimens studied are collected in April and May only.
Additional data on distribution based on literature sources. Shchetkin (1965a): South Tajikistan; Falkovitsh (1986): Uzbekistan.
Distribution. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, S Tajikistan and Kasachstan (Map 1). The species is not yet reported from Iran, but it is likely to occur in the Iranian parts of the Kopet-Dagh area.
description: Published as part of Sh, Hossein Rajaei, Stüning, Dieter & Viidalepp, Jaan, 2011, A review of the species of Lithostege Hübner, [1825] 1816 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Larentiinae), occurring in Iran and adjacent countries, with description of two new species from Iran and Pakistan, pp. 1-46 in Zootaxa 3105 on pages 5-6, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.279200