Nemophora engraptes Kozlov 2023, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Kozlov, Mikhail V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Adelidae
Nemophora
Nemophora engraptes

description: Nemophora engraptes (Meyrick, 1907), comb. nov.
(Figs. 6‒8, 72, 111, 143)
Nemotois engraptes: Meyrick 1907: 993.
Lectotype ♁ (here designated): Sri Lanka, Central Province, Kandy (7 o 17' N, 80 o 40' E); labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘Lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, black ink ‘ Ceylon │ JP[ole]..[19]04’; 13 × 14 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ engraptes │ 1/5 Meyr. │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 19 mm, print ‘ LECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois engraptes │ Meyrick 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2003’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotype ♁, labelled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘Para-│lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Kandy, │ Ceylon. │ Green. 8.[19]02’; 13 × 14 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ engraptes │ 4/5 Meyr. │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 13 mm, print ‘B. M. │ Genitalia slide │ No. 30636’; 8 × 19 mm, print ‘ PARALECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois engraptes │ Meyrick 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2003’ (NHM) [examined].
Nemotois engraptes: Meyrick 1912a: 6, fig. 4 (male, external appearance, in colour), 1912b: 8, 1928: 463; Clarke 1955: 126.
Nemotois pollinaris: Meyrick 1907: 993, syn. nov.
Lectotype ♁ (here designated): Sri Lanka, Central Province, Maskeliya (6 o 50' N, 80 o 34' E); labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘Lecto-│type’; 5 × 9 mm, print + black ink ‘Maskeliya, │ Ceylon. │ Pole..4.[19]06’; 13 × 14 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ pollinaris │ 1/2 Meyr. │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print 'Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 13 mm, print ‘B. M. │ Genitalia slide │ No. 29431'; 8 × 19 mm, print ‘ LECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois pollinaris │ Meyrick 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2003’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotype ♁, labelled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘Para-│lecto-│type’; 5 × 9 mm, print + black ink ‘Maskeliya, │ Ceylon. │ Pole..4.[19]04’; 13 × 14 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ pollinaris │ 2/2 Meyr. │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll. ’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 3 × 28 mm, black ink ‘ pollinaris Meyr. ’; 8 × 18 mm, print ‘ PARALECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois pollinaris │ Meyrick 1907 │ M. Kozlov design. 2003’ (NHM) [examined].
Nemotois pollinaris: Meyrick 1912a: 6, 1912b: 8; Clarke 1955: 254
Other material. Sri Lanka. 2 ♁, 1902 (Mackwood); 1 ♁, Paukullani, 10.xi.1890 (Yerbury). Central Province. 1 ♀, Kandy, ix.1911 (Mackwood); 1 ♀, ibid., ix.1906 (Green); 1 ♁, ibid., vii.1906 (Green); 1 ♁ 1 ♀, Nawalapitiya, 2000 ft, v–vi.1893 (Pole); 1 ♀, Urugala, 13.iv.1923; 2 ♁, Pundaloya, 3500‒4500 ft, 1893 (Green) (all in NHM); 1 ♁, Kandy District, Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, 26.iv.1981 (Krombein) (USNM).
Diagnosis. A typical form of N. engraptes (Figs. 6, 8) is easily distinguished from all other Nemophora species recorded in India and Sri Lanka by the spotted, irregular forewing pattern formed by bright yellow and dark brown spots over the bronze background. The aberrant form of N. engraptes with greatly reduced yellow pattern (Fig. 7) resembles N. pyrotechna (Figs. 47, 48), from which it differs by the enlarged compound eyes in males (interocular index 1.0‒1.2). This form also resembles N. asterodoxa (Fig. 27) and N. chalcomis (Figs. 28, 29), from which it differs by the vertex covered with raised matt piliform scales.
Description. Male (Figs. 6, 7). FWL 7.2‒8.3 mm, WLR 0.35‒0.38. Vertex densely covered with pale yellow piliform scales; frons glossy golden. PLB 0.4‒0.5 × vertical eye diameter (1.15‒1.25 × length of scape), pale yellow. Proboscis light brown, base with pale yellow scales. Eyes enlarged, but not touching each other; interocular index 1.0‒ 1.2; occipital distance 0.3‒0.4.Antenna 3.4‒3.5 × FWL; pegs present. Scape and base of flagellum dark coppery brown, slightly thickened by appressed scales; distal part of flagellum bronze to grey. Tegulae coppery bronze, thorax bronze to coppery bronze. Forewing (Fig. 72) bronze to dark bronze, with variable pattern formed by bright yellow and dark brown scales. Basal third of forewing with bright yellow latitudinal stripes, one along costa and another behind CuP stem, separated by dark brown spot; distal parts of these yellow stripes merge in some specimens. Transverse medial fascia varies from very diffuse dark brown band scattered with yellow scales to dark brown band with distinct yellow spots at costa; proximal yellow spot, if present, is U-shaped. Apical third of forewing with yellow tornal spot, which varies from large yellow area suffused with dark brown scales to an irregular, often asterisk-shaped, bright yellow spot with several dark brown spots positioned between rays of this asterisk. Fringe coppery bronze to bronze. Hindwing bronze to coppery brown; costal area grey; fringe brown to grey. Legs light bronze to light yellow; apices of tibiae and all tarsomeres coppery brown. Epiphysis at 0.45‒0.50, not reaching (sometimes almost reaching) apex of tibia. Abdomen dorsally brown with coppery tint; ventrally bright coppery brown; distal parts of all sternites bright yellow.
Female (Fig. 8). FWL 6.5‒7.5 mm, WLR 0.40‒0.43. Antenna 1.6‒1.7 × FWL, basal 0.4 densely covered with semi-erect coppery black scales; distal part of flagellum bronze. Vertex with dense cover of raised piliform scales, colour of which varies from pale yellow to yellowish brown. Otherwise similar to male.
Male genitalia (Figs. 111, 143). Tegumen dome-shaped, with prominent medial ridge. Socii elongate, 1.3 × diameter of phallus. Vinculum 2.2‒2.4 × length of valva, V-shaped, with almost straight lateral margins and nearly straight to gently W-shaped distal margin. Tips of valvae extend beyond tip of tegumen. Basal parts of valvae (0.4 × valvar length) nearly twice as wide as apical parts; ventral valvar margin convex; dorsal valvar margin almost straight; tip of valva rounded. Valvae fused basally up to 0.3‒0.4 × total length; their internal margins distinct. Anellus 0.5‒0.6 × length of valva. Transtilla with short medial process. Juxta 0.45 × length of phallus; arrow head wide (WLR 0.80), with pointed tip and short pointed lateral arms. Phallus 1.1‒1.2 × length of vinculum, almost straight, with two shallowly C-shaped symmetrical carinae articulated at 0.7 × length of phallus (counting from its base); base of phallus narrowly funnel-shaped, tip narrowly rounded.
Distribution. Sri Lanka.
Comments. Although the type specimens of N. engraptes and N. pollinaris (described by E. Meyrick on the same page of his paper) greatly differ in wing pattern (Figs. 6, 7), they show no differences in other external characters as well as in male genitalia. Moreover, a specimen from Pundaloya has an intermediate wing pattern, further confirming the suggested synonymy.
As evidenced by hand-written labels in NHM collection, Walsingham also suggested that the specimens with contrasting forewing pattern belonged to two different species. A typical form of N. engraptes has been labelled as ‘ Nemotois chrysothorax W. Type ♁’, whereas a dark form has been labelled as ‘ Nemotois cupreomixla [sic!] Type ♁ W.’ These manuscript names apparently have never been published.
description: Published as part of Kozlov, Mikhail V., 2023, Fairy moths of the genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg, 1798 (Lepidoptera: Adelidae) of India and Sri Lanka, pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 5300 (1) on pages 13-14, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5300.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8012772