Phaselia erika subsp. erika Ebert 1965
Creators: name: Werner, Maria Johanna
name: Hausmann, Axel
name: Kostjuk, Igor
name: Wanke, Dominic
name: Rajaei, Hossein
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Geometridae
Phaselia
Phaselia erika
Phaselia erika erika ebert, 1965

description: Phaselia erika erika Ebert, 1965   
(Figs 33–36, 86–90, 128–130, 144).  
 Type material examined.   
Holotype, ♁, “[Afghanistan], Sarobi, 21.ix.[19]63, [leg. O. Hammer] ML”, g. prep. G25, ex. Coll. Günter Ebert; in SMNK.  
Paratypes (2 ♀♀) 1 ♀, same data as holotype; 1 ♀, same data as holotype, “22.viii.[19]61 L”, g. prep G24; all in SMNK.  
 Additional material examined. 6 ♁♁, 21 ♀♀ (see the complete list in the appendix).   
 Re-description. Wingspan. Males: 27–33 mm (average 29.4 mm, n = 6), females: 30.5–40 mm (average 35.2 mm, n = 19).   
 Forewing. Ground colour warm white with smooth light to dark grey and pale brownish dusty pattern; basal area and postmedial area darker than medial area; antemedial line thin, irregularly zigzagged with acute tips, middle tooth longer than other teeth; medial line present as a diffuse darker brown shadow close to postmedial line; postmedial line thin, dark brown, strongly kinked inwards on costal area; subterminal line light to dark brown and interrupted in the middle, serrate with weakly pronounced triangular spikes, distally accompanied by a white shadow; terminal line thin, dark brown, wavy.   
 Hindwing. Ground colour white, speckled with brown towards terminal area; postmedial line brown, medially projected outwards; sometimes interrupted or even invisible; subterminal line barely visible as a light shadow.   
Discal spots usually visible as brown, short streaks or tiny dots on all wings, sometimes faded. Fringes in all wings white and brown, dark at the end of the veins. Ventral side generally paler than dorsal side, pattern of upper side shines through the wings, visible as a shadow (figs 33–36).  
 Male genitalia. Uncus triangular, tip incurved; gnathos well-sclerotized, medially not fused; valva trapezoidal; costal part of valva slightly sclerotized, distally finger-shaped, extended over the apex of valvula; sacculus oval to rectangular, with equally distributed spines, armament stronger at the dorsal tip of sacculus; juxta variable, formed as two ovals fused on the upper or lower half, throughout or distally decreasingly sclerotized; saccus wide, triangular, terminally curved. Aedeagus thick and short, straight or slightly curved; vesica with two separate, well-sclerotized cornuti; a claw-like curved cornutus and a more or less twisted, spinose, plate-like cornutus (figs 86–90).   
 Female genitalia. Ovipositor large and wide; apophyses posteriores three times longer than apophyses anteriores; lamella antevaginalis more sclerotized laterally or wide and evenly sclerotized throughout its width; ductus bursae variable, often wide, roundish to triangular, tapered towards corpus bursae; corpus bursae membranous, ornamented with a small but well-sclerotized, round, stellate signum (figs 128–130).   
 Diagnosis. Phaselia erika can be confused with P. serrularia, P. pithana bona sp., P. sihvoneni sp. nov., P. kasyi, P. deliciosaria and P. sp. cf. deliciosaria .   
 For differentiation of P. erika from P. serrularia and P. pithana bona sp. see the diagnosis of the respective species above. Characters of the compared species are given in parentheses.
description: Published as part of Werner, Maria Johanna, Hausmann, Axel, Kostjuk, Igor, Wanke, Dominic & Rajaei, Hossein, 2023, Integrative taxonomic revision of the genus Phaselia Guenée, [1858] (Geometridae: Ennominae) in the Middle East and Central Asia, pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 5326 (1) on pages 17-18, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5326.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8243811