Stenoloba zhaotonga Li, Han & Kononenko 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Li, Jian
name: Zhang, Chao
name: Han, Hui-Lin
name: Kononenko, Vladimir S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Stenoloba
Stenoloba zhaotonga

description: Stenoloba zhaotonga Li, Han & Kononenko sp. nov.
Figs 1, 2, 7, 11, 13
Type material.
Holotype: • 1 ♂, China, Prov. Yunnan, Zhaotong, Huangshadi, 22 July 2023, RT. Xu, MX. Han leg., slide LJ -128-1, coll. NEFU. Paratype: • 1 ♀, China, Prov. Yunnan, Zhaotong, Sanjiangkou, 21 July 2023, RT. Xu, MX. Han leg., slide LJ -127-2, coll. NEFU.
Diagnosis.
The new species belongs to the S. nigrabasalis species-group. This group includes six species: S. nigrabasalis Chang, 1991, S. ochribasis Kononenko & Ronkay, 2001, S. nora Kononenko & Ronkay, 2001 (Figs 5, 8 12), S. uncata Han & Kononenko, 2018, S. herbacea Saldaitis & Volynkin, 2020 and S. zhaotonga Li, Han & Kononenko, sp. nov.
Stenoloba zhaotonga sp. nov. shares several important characteristics with other species that are typical of the S. nigrabasalis species-group. The structure of the male genitalia reveals that the uncus is usually shorter; both sacculus and costa exhibit different shapes and are asymmetrical. The valve is relatively wide from the base to the middle, displaying strong hardening, with narrowing commences at the cucullus, where the outer edge is nearly straight; the costa features a protrusion resembling a finger or hill shape; additionally, the cucullus generally possesses a protruding structure that extends outward and includes cornua of varying lengths; finally, the juxta is large and either diamond-shaped or lingual.
In contrast to all species in the S. nigrabasalis species-group, S. zhaotonga is very similar to S. nora. In terms of adult features, S. zhaotonga has the head and thorax brown-yellow (in S. nora ochreous-green); forewing is overall brown-yellow (in S. nora more greyish); the basal area is yellow, with some filamentous dark brown stripes (in S. nora darkened, with a conspicuous wide blackish streak); reniform stigma is preceded by some irregular black spots (in S. nora dark spot behind reniform small or missing); and costal margin has dense dark brown stripes (in S. nora sparse). For male genitalia, uncus of the new species is clavate, relatively wide, short and flattened (in S. nora long and thin); juxta is elongate, shovel-like (in S. nora fusiform); apex of valva thin, straight, pointed, with a rectangular subapical process and both sides are densely covered with hairs (in S. nora cucullus has a small hook-like process); sacculus with elongated hill-like extension on outer margin, straighter (in S. nora more rounded); vesica sickle-shaped, dorsal side has cornuti and a granulation area, and cornuti are densely distributed, with cornute longer (in S. nora broadly tubular, recurved, ends have cornuti and granulation areas, cornute shorter). For the female genitalia, apophysis anteriores longer and much thicker (in S. nora shorter and thinner); tubular part of corpus bursae relatively long (in S. nora shorter).
Description.
Adult (Figs 1, 2). Wingspan 24–27 mm. Head brown-yellow, with dense olive scales. Antennae filiform both in male and female. Labial palps sickle-shaped. Thorax brown-yellow, mixed with white. Abdomen brown-yellow with grayish-white scales. Ground colour of forewings brown-yellow, scattered with smoky gray and coffee tones. Costal and inner margins almost parallel. Wing veins visible; milky white between vein R 2 and costal margin, with wavy brown markings. Apex slightly rounded, with gray spots; basal spots grayish-white; basal line blurred, jagged, tan; subbasal line sepia; antemedial line brown; medial area with irregular gray brown spots; reniform stigma brown, preceded by some irregular black spots, periphery with grayish-white radial stripes; postmedial line wavy, brown; subterminal line serrated, grayish-brown; terminal area with broken grayish-brown spots; fringe long, brown. Hindwing smoky gray, deeper in colour towards termen; outer margin decorated with grayish-brown fringe and brown discal spot.
Male genitalia (Fig. 7). Uncus wide, short, mallet-shaped, about 1 / 3 length of tegumen; tegumen narrow, V-shaped, about 1.5 times shorter than vinculum; saccus V-shaped, strongly sclerotized; valva slightly asymmetric with mid of costal margin near straight and wide base, gradually narrowing to cucullus; cucullus bifurcated and extends outward vertically, forms conical protrusion, approximately same length as uncus; sacculus wide, sclerotised, with elongated hill-like extension on outer margin, blunted apically, strongly sclerotised; juxta elongate, shovel-like, extends posteriorly, approximately as long as tegumen. Aedeagus slender, almost straight, tubular; caecum slightly enlarged, strongly sclerotised in carinal plate; vesica sickle-shaped, covered in medial part with scobinate area in distal part, dorsal side has cornuti field and granulation area, and cornuti densely distributed.
Female genitalia (Fig. 11). Papillae anales broad and conical; apophysis posteriors longer than apophysis anteriores, blunt, slightly extended proximally, anterior apophysis thicker, shorter; antrum large, deep, funnel-like; ductus bursae long, strongly sclerotized, with membranous ring in joining with ductus bursae; corpus bursae membranous, elongated sack-like, with strongly sclerotised appendix bursa at junction with ductus bursae.
Bionomics.
This species is known in Southwest China only from its type locality in Zhaotong, Prov. Yunnan, where it was collected in the mountainous regions at an altitude of about 1700 m. Both a male and a female specimen were collected in July.
Distribution.
(Fig. 13) Southwest China (Prov. Yunnan).
Etymology.
The species name refers to its collection site, Zhaotong area in Prov. Yunnan.
description: Published as part of Li, Jian, Zhang, Chao, Han, Hui-Lin & Kononenko, Vladimir S., 2025, Two new species of Stenoloba Staudinger, 1892 from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Bryophilinae), pp. 173-183 in ZooKeys 1228 on pages 173-183, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1228.140176