Nemophora pyrotechna
Creators: name: Kozlov, Mikhail V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Adelidae
Nemophora
Nemophora pyrotechna

description: Nemophora pyrotechna (Meyrick, 1912)   
(Figs. 19, 20, 71, 97, 115)  
 Nemotois pyrotechna: Meyrick 1912a: 6.   
 Nemophora pyrotechna, type material and revision: Kozlov 2023: 39, 63 figs. 47, 48 (colour photographs of moths), 68 fig. 97 (drawing of forewing pattern).   
 Other material. Myanmar. 2 ♂ 1♀, Kadan Kyun (formerly King Island), ii.1924 (Archibald) (NHM).   
 Diagnosis. Nemophora pyrotechna is similar to N. cleodoxa (Figs. 17, 18), from which it differs by the presence of yellow scales in both forewing fascia and apical spot, the presence of two yellow longitudinal stripes at the forewing base, not enlarged compound eyes in males (interocular index 0.60–0.65), V-shaped vinculum and short (0.85 × length of vinculum) phallus lacking strongly sclerotised carinae. Glossy golden spot at the middle of the costal margin occurs also in N. sinicella (Figs. 12, 13) and N. aglaospila (Figs. 10, 11), from which N. pyrotechna differs by the absence of dark and light semicircular bands surrounding this spot. In forewing pattern N. pyrotechna also resembles a dark form of N. engraptes, from which it differs by the small compound eyes in males.   
 Description. Male (Fig. 19). FWL 6.0– 6.8 mm, WLR 0.35–0.37. Vertex bright ochreous; frons glossy golden to glossy bronze, with a row of ochreous yellow piliform scales below antennal sockets. PLB 0.8–1.0 × vertical eye diameter (0.9 × length of scape), ochreous yellow to yellowish brown. Proboscis light brown to ochreous brown; frontal surface basally with dark bronze scales. Eyes not enlarged; interocular index 0.60–0.65. Antenna 4.0–4.1 × FWL; scape and basal part of flagellum (up to 0.6–0.7 × FWL) dark coppery brown; distal part of flagellum light bronze to white. Tegulae dark coppery brown to bronze; thorax dark bronze. Forewing (Fig. 71) dark brown with bronze tint; basal field (0.25 × FWL) dark brown, with external margin almost perpendicular to wing margins; two longitudinal yellow spots in basal field are of similar width. Both fascia (reaching costa between 0.35 and 0.60 × FWL) and tornal spot consist of mixture (generally 1: 2 to 2: 3, in dorsal part of fascia 1: 10 to 1: 5) of yellow and dark brown scales; margins of fascia almost parallel to each other, and width of fascia at costa is 1.4–2.0 × width at dorsum. Tornal spot variable in size, from small (with anterior margin reaching M1 vein) to large (with anterior margin reaching RS4 vein). Fringe bronze. Hindwing dark brown, with bronze to coppery lustre; costal area grey; fringe light brown to bronze. Legs glossy bronze to dark coppery brown; apices of tibiae and all tarsomeres brown. Epiphysis at 0.4–0.5, reaching or almost reaching apex of tibia. Abdomen dorsally dark brown with bronze lustre, ventrally bronze, in some specimens with coppery tint.   
Female (Fig. 20). FWL 5.0–6.0 mm. Antenna 1.8 × FWL, scape and proximal part of flagellum (up to 0.8 × FWL) dark bronze; distal part of flagellum white. Forewing fascia darker than in male, with dominance of brown scales over yellow scales (10: 1). Abdomen brown to bronze, ventrally with coppery tint. Otherwise similar to male.  
Male genitalia (Figs. 97, 115). Tegumen dome-shaped, without medial ridge. Socii oval, 1.6 × diameter of phallus. Vinculum 2.5 × length of valva, with convex lateral margins and almost straight distal margin. Tips of valvae slightly extend beyond tip of tegumen. Ventral margin of valva with smooth lobe reaching 0.6 × length of valva; dorsal margin slightly concave; tip of valva narrowly rounded. Valvae not fused basally.Anellus 0.35 × length of valva. Transtilla with long medial process. Juxta 0.55 × length of phallus; arrow head wide (WLR 0.60), with widely rounded tip and short lateral arms. Phallus 0.85 × length of vinculum, almost straight; base widely funnel-shaped.  
 Distribution. India (Meyrick 1912a), Myanmar (this study), Thailand (this study; photograph-based records: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/21470657,132395186 and 135130275), Cambodia (this study; questionable photograph-based record: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143334145).   
 Comments. The description of external features of N. pyrotechna (provided above) combines data from type specimens (revised by Kozlov 2023) and specimens collected in Myanmar, which differ from type specimens in the smaller size, larger tornal spot and shape of the forewing fascia. The description of male genitalia is based on a specimen from Myanmar, because the holotype lacks the abdomen.   
 All specimens of N. pyrotechna from Thailand and Cambodia (photographs deposited at https://www.inaturalist. org/) were misidentified as N. ahenea.
description: Published as part of Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2024, Fairy moths of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg, 1798 (Lepidoptera: Adelidae) from Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 5423 (1) on pages 22-23, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5423.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10805789