Astrotischeria heliopsisella
Creators: name: Jonas R. Stonis
name: Arūnas Diškus
name: Fernando Carvalho Filho
name: Owen T. Lewis
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Tischeriidae
Astrotischeria
Astrotischeria heliopsisella

description: Astrotischeria heliopsisella (Chambers, 1875)
(Figs. 217–224, 233)
Tischeria heliopsisella CHAMbERS, 1875: 113.
Tischeria heliopsisella CHAMbERS, in WALSINGHAM (1890: 325, 1891: 389); FORbES (1923: 147); BRAUN (1972: 75–77). Astrotischeria heliopsisella (CHAMbERS); DIŠKUS & PUPLESIS (2003: 427).
Tischeria nolckenii FREy & BOLL, 1876: 220, 1878: 257.
Material examined. 1 ♂, 2 ♀, USA, California, Mt. Shasta, Siskiyou, elevation about 1830 m, mining larva on Ambrosia sp. (Asteraceae), viii.1871, Lord Walshingham Collection, genitalia slide nos 28952 ♂, 28964 ♀ (BMNH).
Diagnosis. The species belongs to the Astrotischeria trilobata group. The combination of a very small second dorsal lobe of valva, unique phallus (see Fig. 221), and angular median lobes of uncus in the male genitalia distinguishes A. heliopsisella from all other Astrotischeria, including other members of the A. trilobata group. The fact that it feeds on Ambrosia and Heliopsis also makes this species distinctive.
Male (Fig. 217). Forewing length about 4.0 mm; wingspan about 8.6 mm. Head: face and palpi ochre cream; frontal tuft comprised of wide, cream lamellar scales and, centrally, slender lamellar pale brown scales; collar comprised of wide, white cream lamellar scales; antenna distinctly longer than half the length of forewing; flagellum ochre cream with some dark brown scales; sensillae long, distinctive. Thorax and tegula ochre cream, with a few pale brown scales; Forewing relatively wide, cream, sparsely speckled with pale brown, brown, black-brown and orange-yellow scales; the dark scales form irregular, oblique, stripe-like patches; fringe yellow-ochre on termen, pale brown on costa and tornus; fringe-line distinct; forewing underside brown, without androconia. Hindwing slender, pale brown (at certain angle of view grey) on both upper and underside, without androconia; fringe pale brown. Legs ochre cream, speckled with dark greybrown scales on upper side. Abdomen grey-brown on upper side, brownish cream on underside; anal tuft distinct, brownish cream, comprised of piliform and, laterally, slender lamellar scales.
Female. Similar to male.
Male genitalia (Figs. 218–224). Capsule about 660 µm long, 250–280 µm wide. Uncus consisting of two long lateral lobes and very short, angular median lobes (Fig. 218). Valva divided (Figs. 222, 223): ventral lobe slender and straight (Figs. 219, 220), about 370–390 µm long, 60 µm wide; dorsal lobe very large, curved inwardly (Figs. 219, 220), with a short, lobe-like outgrow (Figs. 222, 223); transtilla absent; basal process of valva relatively short (Figs. 219, 222). Anellus weakly developed, indistinct in slide no. 28952 (BMNH), but well-developed and illustrated in Braun 1972: Fig. 92. Phallus (Figs. 221, 224) about 400 µm long, distally widely bifurcated, without spines (Fig. 221).
Female genitalia. Illustrated in Braun (1972: Fig. 138).
Bionomics. Host plants: Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet, Ambrosia spp. (including A. trifida L.) (Asteraceae). Leaf mine blotch-like (illustrated in Braun 1972: Fig. 48). Larvae of the earlier generation mine in June, later generation in late August—early September; adults known from late March–May and June– August (Braun 1972).
Distribution (Fig. 233). The species occurs in USA (Ohio, New Jersey, Kentucky, Texas, California) (see Remarks).
Remarks. In this paper, we add a new distribution record for A. heliopsisella in mountainous East Coast of the USA (Fig. 233) on the basis of our studied and illustrated specimen from California (Figs. 218–224), reared on Ambrosia. The studied specimen (slide no. 28952 BMNH) slightly differs from the A. Braun’s drawing of the specimen from Ohio (Braun 1972: Fig. 92), also reared also on Ambrosia, in the wider apical lobes of phallus, wider dorsal lobe of valva, shape of median lobes of uncus, and the basally slender valva (unfortunately, anellus is missing in slide no. 28952, therefore it is not possible to compare it with A. Braun’s drawing). We assume that these differences are probably a result of different illustration techniques, or possibly also geographical variation in the genitalia. At this stage of knowledge we refrain from describing a new species and, therefore, treat A. heliopsisella as a slightly variable species distributed across the USA, from the East Coast to the mountains of California.
description: Published as part of Jonas R. Stonis, Arūnas Diškus, Fernando Carvalho Filho & Owen T. Lewis, 2018, American Asteraceae-feeding Astrotischeria species with a highly modified, three-lobed valva in the male genitalia (Lepidoptera, Tischeriidae), pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4469 (1) on pages 55-57, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4469.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1454525