Saphenista bartellae Brown 2019, new species
Creators: name: Brown, John W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tortricidae
Saphenista
Saphenista bartellae

description: Saphenista bartellae Brown, new species
Fig. 1, 2, 7, 11
Diagnosis. Saphenista bartellae is easily distinguished from all congeners by facies alone (Fig. 1, 2), which are more similar to those of Aethes Billberg, 1820 than to other species of Saphenista. The forewing has a uniform white to cream ground color with a gray-brown, nearly complete median fascia of nearly uniform width, the costal portion of which is represented by a small, disjunct, semicircular patch near the mid-costa. Other North American congeners have a more mottled ground color and a variably developed, brownish median fascia from the hind margin that usually attenuates or terminates at or before the discal cell.
In the male genitalia of S. bartellae (Fig. 7) the spur from the vinculum is much longer and narrower than in other North American congeners. In the female genitalia of S. bartellae (Fig. 11) the posterior margin of the sterigma is distinctly V-shaped with a strongly sclerotized edge, and this feature is shared with no other Saphenista.
Description. Head. Vertex and frons white; labial palpus white, with scattered brown scales on second segment laterally and ventrally, scaling only slightly expanded distally on segment II, segment III exposed; antenna with white scales, sensory setae 2.0–2.5 times flagellomere diameter in male, extremely short, sparse in female. Thorax. Nota white to cream; scales of tegula rather short, white; no mid-posterior crest; forewing length 6.0–7.0 mm (mean = 6.5 mm, n = 10); forewing ground color white, sometimes with faint cream-ocherous overscaling, with a well-defined gray-brown median fascia extending from near mid-costal to middle of hind margin, interrupted subcostally, leaving a small gray-brown semicircular patch at costa; often with a rhomboidal gray-brown patch subapically, with a few extremely short, gray-brown strigulae scattered along costa from base to apex of forewing. Fringe concolorous with forewing. Hindwing white to pale cream with faint pale gray-brown overscaling; male with distinct costa roll (hair pencil) ca. 0.5 length of costa; frenulum with one spine in male, three in female (rarely two). Fringe whitish to pale cream. Abdomen. Lacking specialized processes. Mostly pale gray-cream. Male genitalia (Fig. 7) with tegumen flattened at top; uncus absent; socii slender, erect, densely hairy, arising from lateral edge of top of tegumen; valva slender, gently upcurved throughout, widest at base, weakly attenuate throughout to narrow apex; sacculus short, confined to basal 0.1 of venter of valva, followed distally by a small lobe; transtilla well developed with median process bearing a wide, T-shaped expansion distally, lateral margins of process mostly parallel-sided throughout, only slightly expanded distally; vinculum arms joined distally, each bearing a long, slender flange, pointed distally; phallus large, almost as long as valva, slightly curved at ca. 0.6 distance from base, apically with slender ventral projection with blunt apex, vesica with a single slender cornutus. Female genitalia (Fig. 11) with papillae anales slipper-shaped; apophyses unmodified, slender, length of apophyses anteriores about equal to that of apophyses posteriores; sterigma with posterior margin deeply V-shaped immediately posteriad of ostium, with strongly sclerotized margins; ductus bursae moderately wide, abruptly expanded ca. 0.3 distance from ostium to corpus bursae, with longitudinal wrinkles and membranous expansion on left side; corpus bursae short, ovoid, with sparsely distributed, minute spicules on entire inner surface, frail ductus of accessory bursae arising near middle of corpus.
Types. Holotype ♂, USA, Colorado, Gilpin Co., 2538 Golden Gate Canyon Road (State Highway 46), 2674 m, 28 July 2016, B. K. Bartell (USNM).
Paratypes (41♂, 28♀): CANADA: British Columbia: Vancouver, Stanley Park Aquarium, 15 m, 24 Jul 2007 (2♀), A. Li (CNC). USA: California: Kern Co.: Mt. Pinos, 6800′, 2 Jul 1965 (2♂, 1♀), J. Powell (EME). Marin Co.: Inverness, Kehoe road, 75 m, 10–16 Oct 2001 (1♂), 17–23 Oct 2001 (1♂), 24–31 Oct 2001 (5♂), 1–6 Nov 2001 (2♂), J. Powell (EME). Inverness Park 15–22 Oct 1998 (1♀), 15–21 Oct 1999 (1♂, 1♀), 20–26 Nov 2003 (2♂), J. Powell (EME). Inverness, top of Highland Road, 125 m, 9–16 Oct 2000 (1♂), 17–24 Oct 2000 (1♂), 25 Oct–2 Nov 2000 (1♂, 2♀), 11–17 Nov 2004 (1♂, 1♀), J. Powell (EME). W of Inverness, Kehoe Way, 75 m, 10–16 Oct 2001 (1♂), J. Powell (EME). Placer Co.: Ward Creek, 2 mi S Tahoe City, 6250’, 14 Jul 1984 (1♂), 16 Jul 1988 (1♀), 20 Jul 1988 (1♀), 27 Jul 1991 (2♂), 7 Aug 1983 (1♀), N. Westerland (LACM). Tuolomne Co.: Twain Harte, 21 Jul 1985 (1♂), M. Lundgren (EME). Colorado: Gilpin Co.: 2538 Golden Gate Canyon Road (State Highway 46), 2674 m, 12 Jul 2010 (1♂), 3 Aug 2010 (1♂), 12 Aug 2010 (1♀), 13 Jul 2012 (1♂), 17 Jul 2012 (1♂), 22 Jul 2014 (1♀), 23 Jul 2014 (1♂), 24 Jul 2014 (2♀), 17 Aug 2014 (1♂), 24 Aug 2015 (1♂), 26 Aug 2015 (1♂), 14 Jul 2016 (1♂), 16 Jul 2016 (1♀), 17 Jul 2016 (1♀), 18 Jul 2016 (1♂), 31 Jul 2016 (1♂), 2 Aug 2016 (1♀), 3 Aug 2016 (1♂, 1♀), 8 Aug 2016 (1♂, 1♀), 10 Aug 2016 (1♀), 11 Aug 2016 (1♂), B. K. Bartell (CSU). 2538 Golden Gate Canyon Road (State Highway 46), 2674 m, 11 Jul 2010 (1♀), 8 Aug 2010 (2♀), 10 Aug 2010 (1♂), 22 Jul 2011 (1♀), 27 Jul 2010 (1♂), 13 Aug 2011 (1♀), 14 Aug 2010 (1♂), 18 Aug 2011 (1♀), B. K. Bartell (DMNS). La Plata Co.: San Juan National Forest, 0.5 mi N Chris campground, 8 mi N Hermosa, 30 Aug 1991 (1♀), P. Opler (CSU). Montana: Mineral Co.: Superior, 4 Jul 1958 (1♂), M. May (USNM).
Distribution and biology. Saphenista bartellae is recorded from coastal California (Marin Co.) (EME), north to Vancouver, British Columbia (CNC), at elevations of 15–75 m, east to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Montana at elevations of 2600–2700 m. In British Columbia, the Sierra Nevada (California), and the Rocky Mountains (Colorado), adults have been collected from early July through mid-August. In coastal California, captures are from October and November.
Etymology. The species name is a patronym for Barbara Bartell, collector of the holotype.
Remarks. Based on the considerable differences in habitat, it is possible that low elevation, coastal populations of S. bartellae (i.e., California) represent a different species than the high elevation, montane populations (i.e., Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains). However, because I can find no difference in facies, male secondary features, or genitalia, I am treating them all as conspecific.
description: Published as part of Brown, John W., 2019, Two new species and two new combinations in Saphenista Walsingham, 1914 from western North America (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), pp. 1-8 in Insecta Mundi 738 (738) on pages 2-3, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3676593