Tischeria unca Diskus & Stonis, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Diškus, Arūnas
name: Rocienė, Agnė
name: Sruoga, Virginijus
name: Davis, Donald R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tischeriidae
Tischeria
Tischeria unca

description: Tischeria unca Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.
(Figs 11–24, 44, 46, 47)
Type material. Holotype: ♂, RUSSIAN FAR EAST, Primorskiy Kray (= Primorskiy Territory), 20 km E Ussuriysk, Gornotayezhnoe, Biological Station, 43º41'38"N, 132º09'07"E, 26.vii.2011, leg. V. Sruoga, genitalia slide no. AD577 (ZIN). Paratypes: 5♂, 2♀, same locality, 23.vii–05.viii.2011, leg. V. Sruoga, genitalia slide no. AD578 (ZIN); 6♂, 6♀, 21.vii.–20.viii.2011, leg. A. Rocienė, genitalia slides nos AD 575♂, AD 579♂, AD584♀, AD585♀, AD586♀ (ZIN).
Diagnosis. The colour of the scaling of Tischeria unca sp. nov. has little or no diagnostic value. However, this species clearly differs from more than half of the world’s Tischeria in the divided valva. From those congeneric species which also posses a divided valva, the new species is easily recognizable by the unique shape of the juxta comprising three, very large, straight and smooth processes and one large serrate falciform process. The female genitalia of T. unca also exibits good diagnostic characters, including the unique shape of the antrum and the spinelike pectinations in the corpus bursae. Among the Tischeria species whose female genitalia are known, the female genitalia of the Quercus feeding T. unca sp. nov. are most similar to the south Asiatic T. ptarmica Meyrick (feeding on Zizyphus) and to the south African T. zestica Meyrick (with a host-plant unknown). From these two species, females of T. unca sp. nov. are easily recognizable by the rounded posterior plate of the antrum; additionally, from T. zestica by the restricted area of spine-like pectinations on the corpus bursae (Fig. 24).
Male (Figs 11, 12). Forewing length: 3.4–3.8 mm. Wingspan: 7.2–8.0 mm. Head: palpi and face cream to greyish cream; frontal tuft and collar comprised of glossy cream to greyish cream slender lamellar scales; antenna with long piliform sensillae, cream or greyish cream on upper side and greyish brown on underside, 22–23 segments, slightly less than half the length of forewing. Thorax cream to greyish cream; tegulae ochreous cream, with a few brownish scales. Forewing ochreous cream to pale ochre (darker on the apical half) with many sparsely distributed brownish to brown scales more abundant on the apical half of forewing; some of brown scales are distinctly cream-tipped. Underside of forewing uniformly greyish cream to grey. Cilia ochreous cream. Hindwing very narrow, greyish brown to greyish cream, without androconia; its cilia greyish brown to grey-cream. Legs ochreous cream, with greyish brown darkening on upper side (particularly intensive on forelegs, but little on hindlegs). Abdomen pale brownish to greyish brown on upper side, greyish ochre to brownish cream on underside; anal tufts dense and long (as long as width of abdomen), greyish ochre or ochreous cream.
Female. Antenna half the length of forewing, whitish cream or greyish cream on upper side and underside, without long sensillae. Otherwise as in male.
Male genitalia (Figs 13–19). Capsule 620–630 µm. Uncus with long and very slender lateral lobes (Figs 13, 14). Socii large and membranous. Tegumen narrow and short, marginally reinforced, forming a complicated (elaborate) chitinized H-shaped frame (Figs 13, 14). Valva 350–370 µm long, very broad, apically rounded, distally covered with broadened chaetae (Fig. 16) and with slender, 145 µm long dorsal process (Fig. 18); sublateral process of valva long (120–145 µm), transtilla (transverse bar) absent, replaced by long strongly chitinized anterior bar of tegumen. Ventral plate of vinculum narrow but long (250 µm), anteriorly rounded (Figs 13, 14). Juxta very large and complex, comprising three, 320–370 µm long, straight, smooth processes and one large, 355 µm long, serrate falciform process (Figs 15, 17). Phallus (290–300 µm) slender, distinctly broadened at basal end (135–140 µm in width), and apically connected to juxta by membranous joint and forming a complex structure (Fig. 15).
Female genitalia (Figs 20–24) 1600 µm long. Antrum strongly sclerotized, plate-like, 505 µm long, broadened medially (230 µm in width), with rounded chitinization in more narrow caudal part (Figs 20, 22, 23). Ductus spermathecae membranous, with 2–2.5 strongly chitinized convolutions (coils) (Fig. 21). Corpus bursae 950–1000 µm long, oval-shaped, with a band of spine-like pectinations around narrowed distal part of bursae (Figs 21, 24).
Bionomics. Adults fly in August. Otherwise unknown.
Distribution. This species was found in deciduous, predominantly broadleaf forest (Figs 46, 47) of the southern Primorye (Primorskiy Kray, Russian Far East) at altitude 170 m (Fig. 44).
Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin unca (hooked/barbed, bent) in reference to the bent and serrate process of the juxta in the male genitalia.
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Diškus, Arūnas, Rocienė, Agnė, Sruoga, Virginijus & Davis, Donald R., 2014, New and little known Coptotriche and Tischeria species (Lepidoptera: Tischeriidae) from Primorskiy Kray, Russian Far East, pp. 141-155 in Zootaxa 3884 (2) on pages 144-148, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3884.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/253299