Elachista concubia Kaila 2017, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kaila, Lauri
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Elachistidae
Elachista
Elachista concubia

description: Elachista concubia sp. nov.
Figs 1, 10
Type material. Holotype ♂: New Caledonia, 22°15’S 166°38’E Col de Mouirange, 225 m, 27.X.1986, UV trap, R. Brown & O. Pellmyr leg., Genitalia slide by L. Kaila, UNSM 142,821 (USNM).
Diagnosis. Elachista concubia has the forewing ground colour pale grey, mottled with brownish-grey tips of scales. The only wing pattern is formed of prominent, dark brownish-grey plical and discal spots, and strongly mottled fringe formed of dark brownish-grey -tipped scales. Externally it is close to E. scoteina, from which it differs by its paler forewing ground colour and the much more prominent plical and discal spots. The male genitalia are most similar to those of the externally entirely different, yellow Australian E. ictera Kaila, 2011, with a similar row of teeth in distal part of sacculus, and especially E. crocospila Kaila, 2011 and its relatives which are externally also different as having narrower, nearly black forewing with a pattern consisting of at most two small white spots. E. concubia shares a very characteristic apex of phallus with these species: its upper margin is distally strongly sclerotized and bent as a hook, and possesses a distally situated prominent, acute-tipped cornutus.
Description. Forewing length 4 mm. Labial palpus ascending, length 1.2 x diameter of head; basal half of second segment, and apex of distal segment grey, otherwise white above; underside of second segment and apex of third segment mottled, dark grey, otherwise white. Head, scape and pedicel, neck tuft, patagia and thorax dirty white, sparsely mottled with grey tips of scattered scales. Pecten consisting of a few narrow scales, pale grey. Flagellum unicolorous, dark grey. Foreleg leaden grey, apex of tibia and tarsomeres slightly paler grey [other legs missing in the specimen]. Forewing ground colour formed of basally bluish white and distally broadly grey scales; at middle of wing length at fold prominent, elongate plical spot; another similar spot at 2/3 of wing length; fold and area distad of discal spot paler than wing otherwise. Fringe concolorous with ground colour, at apex pale. Hindwing and underside of both wings grey.
Male genitalia. Uncus lobes medially separated by broad U-shaped indentation; lobe as long as wide, median margin straight, meeting distal margin at an obtuse angle; distal margin straight, lateral margin rounded; ventral surface distally and laterally broadly covered by cylindrical scales arising from erect pinaculae. Basal arms of gnathos twice as long as uncus lobe, distally separate. Spinose knob of gnathos oval, about 1.5 x as long as wide. Basal 3/4 of valva parallel-sided; basal fold of costa extended to 1/4 length of valva, distal fold long, narrow, extended to 4/5 length of valva where fades without distinct limit; cucullus narrower than rest of valva, rounded, bent towards costa; sacculus nearly straight, distally tapered and with two indistinct and three prominent teeth. Digitate process 1/5 length of valva, narrowest and bent medially, with a few setae. Median plate of juxta rounded, concave without lateral or posterior extensions. Juxta lobes small, laterally produced, medially distinctly separated from each other, without setae; median margin short and convex joining distal margin without an angle, distal margin straight, lateral margin concave. Vinculum large, U-shaped, without median ridge. Phallus as long as valva, straight, 6 x as long as its width medially; insertion of ductus ejaculatorius dorsally directed; caecum blunt, shorter than width of basal opening of phallus; distal opening extended to distal 2/3 of phallus; apex dorsally curved to form prominent strongly sclerotized hook and with triangular lobe; straight horn-shaped cornutus present at apex.
Female genitalia. Unknown.
Biology. The collecting site is characterized by Holloway (1979) as “mainly dry, bushy maquis with an area of Gymnostoma association in the valley bottom.”
Distribution. New Caledonia.
Etymology. The name is derived from the Latin word concubium, ‘the part of night covered by first sleep’, i.e. late dusk. This refers to the wing colour which is not bright as day but not dark as night, either.
Remarks. The overall similarity with the Australian E. ictera and E. crocospila with shared unique characters (see Diagnosis), both placed at the E. catarata section, suggests that E. concubia is also a representative of this species group.
description: Published as part of Kaila, Lauri, 2017, First records of Elachistinae from New Caledonia: evidence of repeated dispersal events with Australia (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea, Elachistidae), pp. 536-550 in Zootaxa 4300 (4) on pages 537-538, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4300.4.4, http://zenodo.org/record/839266