Cuphodes melanostola
Creators: name: Triberti, Paolo
name: Staude, Hermann
name: Sharp, Ian
name: Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gracillariidae
Cuphodes
Cuphodes melanostola

description: 14. Cuphodes melanostola (Meyrick, 1918)
(Figs 10, 65)
Phrixosceles melanostola Meyrick 1918a, 6: 39.
Cuphodes melanostola Vári, 1961:.190.
Material. 1♂, South Africa, Limpopo, Hoedspruit, Casketts farm mn 04/i/2015, pup 05/i/2015, em 12/i/2015, Euclea divinorum Hiern (Ebenaceae), A. & I. Sharp leg., (rearing: M988), CLV7583.
Additional material. 29 Malaise trapped adults (26 from South Africa, two from Kenya and one from Tanzania) as follows: South Africa: two adults, Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, Crocodile Bridge, Lufund Chantal Muthelu leg., 22/05/2018 and 02/02/2019, BIOUG43487-B03 and BIOUG48029-A01; one adult, Gauteng, Hekpoort, Mogale’s Gate Biodiversity Centre, H. S. Staude leg., 21/12/2012, BIOUG06207-G05; two adults, Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, Lower Sabie, Constance Mathoho leg., 17/viii/2018 and 12/xii/2018, BIOUG45774-C01 and BIOUG47821-B06; one adult, Gauteng, Hekpoort, Magaliesburg, Golden valley, P. Hebert & J. deWaard leg., 18/ ii/2012, BIOUG02090-G09; one adult, Limpopo, Mahlangeni, Packs Mathebula leg., 06/xi/2018, BIOUG45439- A01; three adults, Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, Malelane, Albert Smith leg., 08/xii/2018 and 21/vii/2018, BIOUG48764-C11, BIOUG48764-F09, BIOUG48561-E06; two adults, Free State National Botanical Gardens, Lufuno Nenungwi leg., 08/ii /022, BIOUG81815-G03, BIOUG86457-D11; four adults, Karoo Desert National Botanical Gardens, Eric Malgas leg., 08/ii/2022, 05/iv/2022, 03/v/2022, BIOUG84182-G07, BIOUG84887-D01, BIOUG84885-A01, BIOUG84198-B09; two adults, KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Gardens, Mpho Mathalauga leg., 08/ii/2022, BIOUG87208-H05, BIOUG87208-H11; two adults, Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, Skukuza camp, Lindokuhle Gumede & Meurel Baloyi leg., 03/vii/2018 and 30/viii/2018, BIOUG42978-G11; BIOUG46024- H10; one adult, Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, Stolznek, Marius Snyders leg., 25/xi/2018, BIOUG46728- E04; three adults, Limpopo, Kruger National Park, Vlakteplaas, Tomas Ramabulana leg., 05/i/2019, 02/ii/2019, BIOUG47945-A02, BIOUG47942-F07, BIOUG48137-G01; two adults, Limpopo, Kruger National Park, Nxanatseni North woodlands, Philile Dlamini leg., 17/v/2018, 23/viii/2018, BIOUG43375-E03 and BIOUG46061-E06. Kenya: two adults, Laikipia, Mpala Research Centre, Margaret Kinnaird leg., 03/viii/2014, 23/xi/2014, BIOUG23695-B10; BIOUG24713-B12. Tanzania: one adult, Serengeti National Park, Hembe Campsite, Joseph Hubert Masoy leg., 15/xi/2019, BIOUG93060-G01.
Biology. Previously unknown host plant: Euclea divinorum Hiern (Ebenaceae) (Fig. 65).
Distribution. In South Africa, it was known before to occur in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape; it was also known from Namibia. Here we record it for the first time from Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Free State, Kenya and Tanzania.
DNA barcodes. 47 barcodes forming a single BIN BOLD:ABW0962 (Table S1).
description: Published as part of Triberti, Paolo, Staude, Hermann, Sharp, Ian & Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos, 2024, Exploring the diversity of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) in South Africa: host plants, distribution, and DNA barcoding analysis, with the description of nine new species, pp. 1-51 in Zootaxa 5529 (1) on pages 15-16, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5529.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14021754