Thiotricha prunifolivora Ueda & Fujiwara 2005
Creators: name: Lee, Ga-Eun
name: Li, Houhun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Gelechiidae
Thiotricha
Thiotricha prunifolivora

description: Thiotricha prunifolivora Ueda & Fujiwara, 2005   
(Figs 2A, 3D, 7F, 23M, 31A, 48D)  
 Thiotricha prunifolivora Ueda & Fujiwara, 2005: 76; Sakamaki, 2013: 47, 297. TL: Osaka Prefecture, Japan. TD: OPU.   
 Material examined. CHINA: Chongqing Municipality: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Mt. Simian (28.8°N, 107.03°E), 1280 m, 11, 12.viii.2012, leg. Xiaofei Yang and Tengteng Liu, genitalia slide nos. LGE 18419m, LGE18425f; Fujian Province: 1 ♂, Pikeng, 600 m, Mt. Wuyi, 27.v.2004, leg. Haili Yu; 1 ♀, Xianfengling, 1000 m, Mt. Wuyi, 26.v.2004, leg. Haili Yu, genitalia slide no. ZJL05100; Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: 8 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, Qinmu Village (24.98°N, 109.98°E), 160 m, Yongfu County, 1−5.v.2008, leg. Hui Zhen and Li Zhang, genitalia slide nos. LGE 16068m, LGE16094f; 1 ♂, Mt. Daming (23.08°N, 107.14°E), 1250 m, 21.v.2011, leg. Linlin Yang and Yinghui Mou; Hainan Province: 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Jian ¬fengling (18.73°N, 108.91°E), 940 m, 4−6.vi.2007, leg. Zhiwei Zhang and Weichun Li, genitalia slide no. LGE16093f; 1 ♂, Bawangling (19.12°N, 109.09°E), 1000 m, 9.iv.2008, leg. Bingbing Hu and Haiyan Bai, genitalia slide no. LGE18430; 1 ♂, Jianfengling Nature Reserves (18.74°N, 108.87°E), 770 m, Ledong County, 16.vii.2014, leg. Peixin Cong, Linjie Liu and Sha Hu; 12 ♂♂, Jianfengling Nature Reserves (18.74°N, 108.87°E), 770 m, Ledong County, 30.v−5.vi.2015, leg. Peixin Cong, Wei Guan and Sha Hu; 4 ♂♂, Tianchi (18.73°N, 108.87°E), 787 m, Jianfengling, 14.vii.2015, leg. Qingyun Wang, Suran Li and Mengting Chen, genitalia slide nos. LGE16090, LGE16091; 3 ♂♂, Tianchi (18.73°N, 108.87°E), 787 m, Jianfengling, 5−9.viii.2016, leg. Xia Bai, Shuonan Qian and Wanding Qi, genitalia slide no. LGE16281; 1 ♂, Mingfenggu (18.74°N, 108.84°E), 954 m, Jianfengling, 9.viii.2017, leg. Xia Bai, Ping Liu and Shuai Yu; 1 ♂, Jianfengling (18.75°N, 108.87°E), 745 m, Ledong County, 11.viii.2017, leg. Xia Bai, Ping Liu and Shuai Yu; 8 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Jianfengling (18.75°N, 108.87°E), 810 m, Ledong County, 12–15.vi.2018, leg. Ping Liu, Xia Bai and Shuai Yu, genitalia slide no. LGE 19027m; 2 ♂♂, Mt. Wolong (19.46°N, 110.12°E), 126 m, Tunchang County, 21.vi.2018, leg. Ping Liu, Xia Bai and Shuai Yu; Taiwan Province: 2 ♂♂, Mt. Fu, 420 m, Yilan, Taibei, 31.vii.2006, leg. Houhun Li and Xicui Du, genitalia slide no. LGE18050; Zhejiang Province: 2 ♂♂, Wuyanling (27.35°N, 119.92°E), 680 m, Taishun County, 2.viii.2005, leg. Haili Yu, genitalia slide nos. ZJL05411, ZJL05492; 1 ♂, Mt. Jiulong, 400 m, 5.viii.2011, leg. Linlin Yang and Na Chen, whole-body slide no. NKLGE009; 1 ♂, Pinggang (30.42°N, 119.55°E), 754 m, Mt. Longxu, 23.viii.2014, leg. Auhui Yin, Qingyun Wang and Suran Li; 1 ♂, Laofoyan Village (28.37°N, 118.67°E), 424 m, Shuangxi Town, Xianxialing, Jiangshan City, 9.viii.2016, leg. Qingyun Wang, Meiqing Yang and Ping Liu; 3 ♂♂, Huangtianhu (27.93°N, 119.68°E), 787 m, Jingning County, 11.viii.2016, leg. Qingyun Wang, Meiqing Yang and Ping Liu; 2 ♂♂, Wangdongyang Wetlands Reserves (27.67°N, 119.63°E), 1301 m, Jingning County, 12.viii.2016, leg. Qingyun Wang, Meiqing Yang and Ping Liu; 2 ♂♂, Baishanzu Nature Reserves (27.73°N, 119.17°E), 1149 m, Qingyuan County, 14, 16.viii.2016, leg. Qingyun Wang, Meiqing Yang and Ping Liu; 2 ♂♂, Shimendong (28.27°N, 120.1°E), 102 m, Qingtian County, 20, 21.viii.2016, leg. Qingyun Wang, Meiqing Yang and Ping Liu; 8 ♂♂, Linkeng Village (28.53°N, 120.7°E), 387 m, Yongjia County, 24−27.viii.2016, leg. Qingyun Wang, Meiqing Yang and Ping Liu, genitalia slide no. LGE16280; 2 ♂♂, Gutianshan (29.23°N, 118.1°E), 310 m, Kaihua County, Quzhou City, 18, 19.v.2017, leg. Shuonan Qian and Ga-Eun Lee; 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Laofoyan Village (28.37°N, 118.67°E), 400 m, Shuangxi Town, Xianxialing, Jiangshan City, 27, 28.v.2017, leg. Shuonan Qian and Ga-Eun Lee, genitalia slide nos. LGE 18049m, LGE18424f; 1 ♀, Wangdongyang Wetlands Reserves (27.41°N, 119.38°E), 1174 m, Jingning County, 19.viii.2018, leg. Shuai Yu, Mengran Xing and Chen Liu.   
 Diagnosis. Adult (Figs 2A, 3D, 7F). Wingspan 6.5−12.0 mm. In superficial appearance, T. prunifolivora closely resembles T. lacrimiformis and T. asymmetricijuxta, and they can be separated by some aspects. The wingspan range is more varied in T. prunifolivora whereas two other species have smaller size: 6.0−9.0 mm in T. lacrimiformis (n=33) and 7.0− 7.5 mm in T. asymmetricijuxta (n=2). Also, the apical spot on the forewing is small and the tegula is white in T. prunifolivora, but the apical spots are larger and the tegulae are slightly or strongly suffused with fuscous along the anterior margin in other species. Segments II and III of the labial palpus are fuscous along the ventral surface in T. prunifolivora, similar to those of T. asymmetricijuxta, but the labial palpus is irregularly sprinkled with fuscous in T. lacrimiformis. The male labial palpus of T. prunifolivora are differentiated from those of T. asymmetricijuxta by the absence of hair pencils on segment II.   
 The male genitalia (Fig. 31A) of T. prunifolivora are easily distinguished from its allies by the slender valva with distal 1/3 slightly broadened, the large anellus lobe with a robust apical bristle and the aedeagus with distal 3/4 very narrowed. The female genitalia (Fig. 48D) are unusual in this species group because the signum is absent.   
 Biology. The Japanese T. prunifolivora was well studied by Ueda & Fujiwara (2005), and a known host plant is Symplocos prunifolia Sieb. & Zucc. (Symplocaceae). Based on their study, the females lay eggs singly on the base of the flower buds or the flower stalks. A hatched larva penetrates the flower bud or bores into a developing seed, and it uses the materials as a portable case. There are three generations in a year in Japan, and the larvae of each generation have different feeding habits (Ueda & Fujiwara 2005).   
 Distribution. China (Chongqing, Fujian, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Zhejiang), Japan.   
 Remarks. This species is recorded from China for the first time.
description: Published as part of Lee, Ga-Eun & Li, Houhun, 2024, A taxonomic review of Thiotricha Meyrick, 1886 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Thiotrichinae) from China, with descriptions of 84 new species, pp. 1-222 in Zootaxa 5449 (1) on pages 31-32, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5449.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/11233121