Paratischeria robinsoni Diskus & Stonis 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Diškus, Arūnas
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Lewis, Owen T.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tischeriidae
Paratischeria
Paratischeria robinsoni

description: Paratischeria robinsoni Diškus & Stonis sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 655A3435-7DF0-408C-B0F0-A7A86C381B93
Figs 18–20, 90–106
Tischeria sp. 5 – Lewis et al. 2002: 872.
Diagnosis
External characters are not sufficient for the identification of this species. In the male genitalia, the unique four-lobed uncus (Fig. 97) and the presence of pectens on the valva (Fig. 96) distinguish Paratischeria robinsoni sp. nov. from other congeneric species. In the female genitalia, the combination of a specific shape of prela (Fig. 101), large ovipositor lobes, densely covered with peg setae (Fig. 103), and a dentate thickening on the tergum (Figs 104–105) is hypothesized to be unique to this species. The Asteraceae host plant, Otopappus verbesinoides Benth., make this species unique in the Neotropical fauna.
Etymology
This species is named after the late Dr Gaden Sutherland Robinson (1949–2009), former curator and leading research scientist at the Natural History Museum, London, our former colleague and friend, and one of the greatest professionals on systematics and biodiversity. The first author is indebted to Gaden S. Robinson for his principal role in facilitating R. Puplesis’ fieldwork at Las Cuevas (1998).
Type material
Holotype
BELIZE • ♂; Cayo District, Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Las Cuevas; 16°43′53″ N, 88°59′11″ W; alt. 550 m; 4 Jul. 1998; O.T. Lewis leg.; mining larva on Otopappus verbesinoides Benth. (Asteraceae); field card no. 30.035-4/7; genitalia slide no. 010316187♂; NHMUK 010289262.
Paratypes
BELIZE • 3 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; 5 Nov. 1997 and 11 Feb.–14 Jul. 1998; field card nos 23.048-14/7♂, 3.032-14/6♂, 25.054-7/3♂, 1540-5/11♀, 25.058-11/2♀, 25.057-11/2♀, 30.036-4/7♀, 25.056-11/2♀, 1541-5/11♀; genitalia slide nos 010316188♂, 010316190♂, 010316191♂, 010316189♀, 010316192♀; NHMUK 010289263 to 010289271.
Description
Male
EXTERNAL CHARACTERS (Fig. 18). Forewing length 2.6–3.0 mm; wingspan 5.5–6.3 mm (n = 4). Head: palpus, pecten and frons ochre cream; frontal tuft and collar comprised of ochre cream and some browngrey slender lamellar scales; antenna exceeding ½ of forewing; flagellum yellowish ochre, irregularly annulated with grey-black scales. Thorax yellowish ochre with some grey-brown scales; tegula covered either with grey-brown or mixture of yellow-ochre and grey-brown scales. Forewing yellow-ochre with irregular markings of brown-black scales; fringe yellowish brown, apically yellow-ochre; fringe line absent or indistinctive; forewing underside grey-brown, without spots or androconia. Hindwing greybrown on upper side and underside, without androconia, fringe pale grey-brown. Legs: foreleg and midleg dark grey-brown; hindleg ochre-cream with grey and brown scales and some purple iridescence. Abdomen grey-brown with some purple iridescence on upper side, brownish or yellow-ochre with some grey-brown scales on underside; genital plates pale grey to greyish cream; anal tufts grey.
MALE GENITALIA (Figs 90–100). Capsule 980–990 µm long, 435–490 µm wide. Uncus with four long, slender lobes: two dorsal and two ventral (Figs 90–91, 93, 97–100). Valva about 695 µm long, apically with thickened, tooth-like pectens (Fig. 96); anellus membranous (Figs 93, 95); transtilla and juxta absent. Ventral lobe of vinculum large, distally truncated or rounded (Figs 92–93). Phallus 540–640 µm long, apically divided, with lateral lobes (Fig. 94).
Female
EXTERNAL CHARACTERS (Figs 19–20). Forewing length 3.0– 3.9 mm; wingspan 6.5–8.1 mm (n = 6). Abdomen without anal tufts. Otherwise, similar to male.
FEMALE GENITALIA (Figs 101–106). Total length about 2990 µm. Ovipositor lobes very large (Fig. 103), densely covered with modified setae (‘peg setae’); area between ovipositor lobes widely rounded, with tiny papillae and two very long setae. Second pair of lobes, lateral and anterior to ovipositor lobes, much smaller than ovipositor lobes, elongated and bearing long slender setae, without stout ‘peg setae’. Posterior and anterior apophyses almost equal in length (Fig. 101); prela comprised of three pairs of rodlike projections (Fig. 101). Proximally, corpus bursae very slender, with numerous fine spines, distally oval-shaped, without pectinations. Ductus spermathecae very slender, with 5–6 large coils (Fig. 102). Abdominal wall with slender, dentate thickenings on tergum (Figs 104–106).
Biology
Host plant: Otopappus verbesinoides Benth. (Asteraceae). Larvae mine leaves in February–March and June–November. The leaf mine is a transparent, window-like blotch. This species was listed as ‘ Tischeria sp. 5’ by Lewis et al. (2002). Of 40 mines reared successfully, 9 (22.5%) produced parasitoids.
Flight period
Based on rearing data, adults are likely to occur throughout much of the year.
Distribution
So far this species is known from a single locality in Belize, Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Las Cuevas, at an elevation of about 550 m.
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Diškus, Arūnas, Remeikis, Andrius & Lewis, Owen T., 2020, Exceptional diversity of Tischeriidae (Lepidoptera) from a single tropical forest site in Belize, Central America, pp. 33-76 in European Journal of Taxonomy 723 on pages 55-59, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.723.1143, http://zenodo.org/record/4250536