Astrotischeria truncata Stonis & Diškus & Remeikis & Katinas & Torres & Schuster & Puplesyte-Chambers 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Diškus, Arūnas
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Katinas, Liliana
name: Torres, Nixon Cumbicus
name: Schuster, Jack
name: Puplesyte-Chambers, Julia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tischeriidae
Astrotischeria
Astrotischeria truncata

description: Astrotischeria truncata Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.
(Figs 10–18, 47, 48, 100–111, 134–139)
Type material. Holotype: ♂, BOLIVIA: Nor Yungas Province, Coroico, 16 ° 12ꞌ25ꞌꞌS, 67 ° 43ꞌ53ꞌꞌW, elevation 1660 m, mining larvae on Asteraceae, 15.vi.2018, ex pupa vii.2018, field card no. 5266, A. Diškus and J. R. Stonis, genitalia slide no. AD1000 ♂ (ZMUC). Paratypes: 2 ♂, 3 ♀, same label data as holotype, genitalia slides nos. AD 971♂, AD 972♂ (from an adult in pupal skin), AD 974♀ (ZMUC).
Diagnosis. Externally the new species can be confused with some other speckled Astrotischeria species, including the Ecuadorian A. bacchariphaga and the Central American A. guatemalica. In the male genitalia, the presence of a third dorsal truncated process of the valva (Figs 105, 107) distinguishes A. truncata from all known congeneric species.
Description. Male (Fig. 48). Forewing length about 3.8 mm; wingspan about 8.1 mm (n = 1).
Head. Face pale ochre to golden cream; labial palpus yellow cream; pecten ochre cream; frontal tuft and collar glossy, ochre cream to golden cream, distally with some brown-tipped scales; antenna slightly longer than one-half length of forewing; flagellum glossy, yellow-ochre proximally, greyish cream distally, irregularly annulated with dark, grey-brown scales.
Thorax. Tegula, thorax, and forewing glossy, pale ochre to yellow ochre, with some irregular patches of greybrown scales; fringe ochre on forewing apex, elsewhere grey; fringe line grey-black; forewing underside pale greybrown, except distinctly ochre at apex, without androconia. Hindwing and its fringe brownish cream to pale grey on upper side and underside, without androconia. Legs pale yellow-ochre, densely covered with grey-brown on upper side.
Abdomen. Glossy, pale yellow-ochre to ochre-brown on upper side, with many grey-brown scales on underside; anal tufts inconspicuous, ochre cream to yellow cream. Genitalia (Figs 100–111) with capsule 1100 µm long, 445 µm broad. Uncus (Figs 100, 101) comprised of two wide and very short dorsal lobes and two slender and long ventral lobes. Valva (Figs 100, 105, 108) about 750 µm long (excluding basal process); two dorsal lobes greatly developed, third very wide but truncated (Fig. 105); transtilla absent; basal process of valva long (Fig. 106). Anellus mostly membranous, with 2–3 setae laterally (Fig. 107). Vinculum rounded. Phallus 1005–1055 µm long, distally deeply bifurcated (Figs 103, 104, 111).
Female (Fig. 47). Forewing length 3.7–4.1 mm; wingspan 8.0– 8.7 mm (n = 2). Similar to male but often more brightly coloured.
Genitalia (Figs 134–139) about 2750 µm long. Ovipositor lobes small (Fig. 136), with short, modified peg setae; area between ovipositor lobes rounded, with tiny papillae and some short setae. Second pair of lobes, lateral and anterior to ovipositor lobes, much smaller than ovipositor lobes, but bearing a few long slender setae, without stout, modified peg setae. Anterior and posterior apophyses almost equal in length (Fig. 135); prela comprised of three pairs of long and very long rod-like projections (Figs 134–136). Corpus bursae long, distally wide and rounded, with pectinations (see Fig. 137). Accessory sac inconspicuous; ductus spermathaecae very slender, with 5–6 coils and rounded vesicle (Figs 138, 139).
Bionomics (Figs 10–18). The host plant is possibly Eupatorium sp. (Asteraceae) (see Remarks) (Fig. 11). Larvae mine leaves in June. Larva is pale yellow with a pale brown head and green intestine. The blotch mine (Figs 12–18) is unusually large and long, whitish or pale brown (old mines turn brown), with no or very little frass; fully developed mines bend (distort) the mined leaf (Figs 14–18). Adults occur in July.
Distribution. The species is known only from the single locality in Bolivia (Nor Yungas Province: Coroico) at an elevation of about 1700 m (Fig. 10).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin truncatus (trimmed, truncated) in reference to the truncated process of valva in the male genitalia.
Remarks. We thought the host plant could be a species of Eupatorium L. (det. N. Cumbicus Torres), but it (Fig. 11) remains unidentified. According to L. Katinas, it is similar to but does not exactly match Clibadium F.Allam. ex L. or Gyptis (Cass.) Cass. (both Asteraceae).
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Diškus, Arūnas, Remeikis, Andrius, Katinas, Liliana, Torres, Nixon Cumbicus, Schuster, Jack & Puplesyte-Chambers, Julia, 2019, Diagnostics of new species of Neotropical Tischeriidae (Lepidoptera), with the first record of Coptotriche Walshingham from South America, pp. 1-32 in Zootaxa 4691 (1) on pages 13-29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4691.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3526995