Stigmella maya Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Diškus, Arūnas
name: Noreika, Remigijus
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Stigmella
Stigmella maya

description: Stigmella maya Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.
(Figs 2–10, 15–16)
Type material. Holotype: 3, MEXICO, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Tulum, 20°12'35"N, 87°25'55"W, elevation 15 m, mining larvae 29.xi.2011, ex pupa 11.xii. 2011, leg. A. Remeikis & J.R. Stonis, gen. slide no. RA 473. Paratypes: 23, 3Ƥ, same label data, ex pupae 8–16.xii.2011, gen. slide nos RA 4723, RA 469Ƥ, RA 470Ƥ, RA 471Ƥ (all specimens of the type-series are currently deposited in LEUS, with further re-deposition at ZMUC).
Diagnosis. A very distinctive, very small dark-winged species with a silver-white fascia in the forewing. Externally, males of the new species easily distinguished from all other currently known Stigmella species, including Neotropical ones, by black hindwings densely covered with androconial scales. In male genitalia, S. maya differs from all Neotropical Stigmella species by a combination of a specialized uncus, a broad U-shaped gnathos and a simple apically pointed valva.
Male (Figs 2, 4). Forewing length 1.4–1.5 mm; wingspan 3.04–3.27 mm (n=3). Head: palpi cream; frontal tuft cream, on vertex brown to orange; collar and scape whitish to cream; antenna with 23–24 segments, slightly longer than half forewing; flagellum brown-grey to cream-glossy (particularly first 8 segments) on upper side, cream on underside. Thorax fuscous grey; tegulae black. Forewings fuscous grey, speckled in apical part, with silver-white slightly shiny fascia; terminal cilia white, comprised of broadened (lamellar) scales; tornal cilia blackish grey, comprising piliform scales (Fig. 2); underside of forewing black. Hindwings fuscous grey, densely covered with black androconia, except at apex (Fig. 4); cilia of hindwings blackish grey. Legs dark cream to black on upper side, dark cream on underside. Abdomen black on upper side, dark grey, with purple and some green iridescence on underside; anal tufts white-cream.
Female (Figs 3, 5). Forewing length 1.3–1.4 mm; wingspan 2.8–3.0 mm (n=3). Hindwings grey to blackish grey; no androconial scales. Abdomen shiny black on upper side, grey on underside, without purple and green iridescence. Otherwise as male.
Male genitalia (Figs 6–9). Capsule longer (215 mm) than wide (160 mm) (n=2). Vinculum with two large lateral (anterior) lobes. Uncus with small heavier sclerotised lateral (posterior) lobes (Fig. 7). Gnathos narrow, broadly U-shaped, posterior projections far apart (Fig. 7). Valva (Figs 6, 9) 130 mm (n=2) long, basally broad, narrowed apically, with thickened and pointed apical process; transtilla with short triangular pointed sublateral processes. Aedeagus (Fig. 8) 230 mm (n=2); vesica with numerous minute cornuti.
Female genitalia (Fig. 10). Total length 575–585 mm (n=3). Vestibulum relatively broad, without sclerites. Corpus bursae broadly oval, very large, covered with numerous pectinations, without signa. Ductus spermathecae with 2.5 large convolutions.
Bionomics. Mines in leaves (Fig. 16). Host-plant: Karwinskia humboldtiana (Schult.) Zucc. (Rhamnaceae) (Fig. 18). Egg on upper side of the leaf. Larvae mine in late November and early December. Contorted or sinuous gallery of mine filled with dark brown to blackish frass (Fig. 16). Larva pale green to green, with dark green intestine. Larval exit slit on upper side of the leaf. Cocoon very pale brownish cream to grey-beige; length 1.4 – 1.75 mm, maximal width 0.7–1 mm (n=6). Adults emerged in December.
Distribution (Fig. 1). Lowland coastal forest of Yucatán (SE Mexico: Quintana Roo) (Fig. 15).
Etymology. This species is named after the Maya people, a Mesoamerican civilization.
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Remeikis, Andrius, Diškus, Arūnas & Noreika, Remigijus, 2013, New Nepticulidae species (Insecta: Lepidoptera) from the Yucatán Peninsula (SE Mexico), pp. 223-230 in Zootaxa 3609 (2) on page 224, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3609.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/217108