Pseudocaissa yutua Wu & Han, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Wu, Jun
name: Han, Hui-Lin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Limacodidae
Pseudocaissa
Pseudocaissa yutua

description: Pseudocaissa yutua sp. nov.
Figures 1, 2, 6, 7
Common name. Ī兔伪凯刺º
Type-material. Holotype: male, CHINA, Yunnan Province, Zhaotong City, Daguan County, Mugan Town, Piaoba Village, 21–23.vii.2022, leg. RT. Xu & MX. Han, genit. prep. WuJ-1128-1, in NEFU.
Paratype: 1 male, same data as holotype, genit. prep. WuJ-1127-1, in NEFU.
Diagnosis. Externally, the new species is difficult to distinguish from its congeners, P. marvelosa (Fig. 3) and P. apiata (Fig. 4). However, the following notable diagnostic features exist in the male genitalia, with characters of P. marvelosa (Fig. 8) and P. apiata (Fig. 9) in parentheses for comparison. (1) The uncus is distinctly constricted subapically and rounded at the tip (in P. marvelosa, the subapical part of the uncus tapers towards the apex or is slightly constricted, with the tip relatively flat; in P. apiata, the uncus is broader, tapering at the end into a sword-like shape); (2) the middle part of the valva is slightly narrower (in P. marvelosa, the valva is uniformly broad throughout; in P. apiata, the valva is rounded and widened distally); (3) the juxta with a pair of long, fingerlike, sclerotized lateral processes apically, and the surface of processes densely covered with micro-spines (in P. marvelosa, these lateral processes are indistinct, weakly sclerotized, and lack any spines on the surface; in P. apiata, the lateral processes are short, drop-shaped, and acute, with small spines); and (4) the phallus is slender, with no cornuti on the vesica, but with a single weakly sclerotized, slightly curved long sclerite (in P. marvelosa, the phallus is short and robust, with the vesica bearing a single cornutus and one sclerotized, curved long sclerite; in P. apiata, the phallus is short, arcuate, bearing a single slender and long curved sclerite).
Description. Adult (Figs 1, 2). Forewing length 13–15 mm, wingspan 28–34 mm in males (N = 2).
Head creamy white. Male antennae filiform. Labial palpus short, brownish, directed forward.
Thorax predominantly black, dorsally with creamy white spots; patagium black; tegula black with white scales. Forewing ground color grayish brown to dark brown, with a series of creamy white spots of varying sizes. Basal spot small, near the base along the costal margin; subbasal spot divided into two; central white spot small, with blurred edges. Four prominent, large creamy white spots forming a straight line parallel to the outer margin at c. 2/3 from the wing base; four smaller round spots forming an outwardly curved arc near the tornus. Apical patch wedge-shaped; below it, along the outer margin, with a large semicircular spot. Fringe creamy white to black and white mixed. Hindwing uniformly brownish, with a small black spot near the tornus. Fringe yellowish brown with interspersed dark brown, and are long on both fore- and hindwing. Coxa and femur of legs black; tibia and tarsi black and white banded.
Abdomen blackish, mixed with white and greyish-brown scales.
Male genitalia (Figs 6, 7). Uncus elongated, subapically constricted, with a rounded tip densely covered in thick setae. Gnathos reduced. Tegumen narrow and long, approximately 1.5 times the width of the uncus base. Valva elongated, broad at the base, narrowest at the middle, and widened distally; sacculus swollen at the base, with a strongly sclerotized, pointed, beak-shaped extension located at approximately halfway along the valva. Anellus sclerotized, with granular surface. Juxta flattened, oval-shaped, with the upper margin bearing a pair of long, fingerlike, sclerotized lateral processes; the surface of the processes densely covered with micro-spines. Vinculum robust. Saccus absent. Phallus slender, tubular, slightly S-shaped; no cornuti in the vesica, but a single weakly sclerotized, slightly curved, long sclerite is present.
Female. Unknown.
Phenology and habitat. The type specimens were collected in July at an altitude of c. 1390 m.The region features a subtropical monsoon climate, characterized by mild and humid conditions, with an annual mean temperature of 13–16°C. The surrounding area of the collection site is densely vegetated, representing typical subtropical forests dominated by broad-leaved trees, interspersed with mixed broadleaf-conifer forests and shrublands (Fig. 5).
Distribution. China (Yunnan) (Fig. 10).
Etymology. The species is named "Yutua" after the Jade Rabbit from Chinese mythology, a rabbit known for pounding medicinal herbs in the Moon Palace. The name also reflects the resemblance of the juxta in the new species to a rabbit's head.
description: Published as part of Wu, Jun & Han, Hui-Lin, 2025, Taxonomic review of the genus Pseudocaissa Solovyev & Witt, 2009 (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae), with description of a new species from Prov. Yunnan, China, pp. 494-500 in Zootaxa 5588 (3) on pages 495-497, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5588.3.8, http://zenodo.org/record/14896652