Ectoedemia orbiculata Diskus, Remeikis & Stonis 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Stonis, Jonas R.
name: Remeikis, Andrius
name: Diškus, Arūnas
name: Navickaitė, Asta
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Nepticulidae
Ectoedemia
Ectoedemia orbiculata

description: Ectoedemia orbiculata Diškus, Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.
(Figs 6, 26–28, 39–52, 137–157)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: ADB5203C-E64D-4AA8-81D8-44BCDA1F1457
Type material. Holotype: ♂, India, Uttarakhand, Dehradun Distr., Mussoorie, 30°27’46”N, 78°04’17”E, eleva-tion ca. 2000 m, feeding larva on Spiraea canescens, 11.viii.2010, A. Diškus & A. Navickaitė, genitalia slide no. AD 489♂ (ZIN). Paratypes: 2 ♂, 5 ♀, same label data as holotype, genitalia slide nos AD 498♂, AD 487♀ (ZIN); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, same label data as holotype, 10–13.viii.2010, A. Remeikis & J. R. Stonis, genitalia slide nos RA 271♂, RA 270♀, RA 272♀ (ZIN); 1 ♂, Rishikesh, 30°07’40”N, 78°19’03”E, elevation ca. 450 m, at light, 07.viii.2010, A. Šimkevičiūtė, genitalia slide no. AG 129♂ (ZIN).
Diagnosis. This new species belongs to the Ectoedemia angulifasciella species group. Ectoedemia orbiculata sp. nov. is the most similar to, and probably closely related to, the European E. spiraeae Gregor and Povolný and Siberian E. jacutica Puplesis. Currently E. orbiculata was COI barcoded by us.
Externally, the speckled forewing with a tornal spot distinguishes males of E. orbiculata from all species of the E. angulifasciella group, possessing a distinctive forewing fascia. However, the fasciated females of E. orbiculata can be confused with other species of the group. From the related E. spiraeae, the males of new species differ in tufts of the wings: forewing underside of E. orbiculata is characterized by the presence of specials scales along the costal margin (Fig. 46), absence of a tuft (E. spiraeae is with a white tuft of piliform scales), and hindwing upper side with a brown hair pencil (Fig. 51) (yellowish white in E. spiraeae).
From the similar E. jacutica, the males of new species differ in forewing underside which is characterized by the presence of special scales along the costal margin (Fig. 46), absence of a tuft (E. jacutica with an ochre-brown tuft of piliform scales, Fig. 54), and hindwing upper side of E. orbiculata with a brown hair pencil (Fig. 52) (ochrebrown, indistinctive in E. jacutica, Fig. 57).
In the genitalia, the large apical process of the valva, and apically very slender pseuduncus in the male genitalia, distally bent anterior apophyses, oval signa, tube-like vesicle, very large terminal part (forming up to one half of the female genitalia length) distinguish E. orbiculata from E. spiraeae; from E. jacutica, the new species differs in the absence of a proximal excavation of vinculum (Fig. 158), smaller apical process of valva and the presence of basal joint between valvae (Fig. 137).
The round blotch-like part of the leaf mine of E. orbiculata is also distinctive and specific (Fig. 27).
Male (Figs 43–52). Forewing length 2.1–2.3 mm; wingspan 4.6–5.1 mm (n = 5).
Head. Frons and palpi cream, frontal tuft orange ochre; collar cream, comprised of short piliform scales; antenna as half the length of forewing; flagellum grey-brown.
Thorax. Tegula, thorax and forewing densely speckled with brown-black scales; forewing with an indistinctive, greyish cream tornal spot; fringe cream, with a fringe line; forewing underside dark grey, with special scales along costal margin (Figs 46–48). Hindwing grey, with brown hair pencil on upper side; fringe grey. Legs ochre cream, with dark grey to black scales on upper side.
Abdomen. Brown to grey-brown, with some purple iridescence on upper side, greyish cream to grey-brown on underside; genital plates cream; anal tufts brown, inconspicuous.
Genitalia (Figs 137–157) with capsule about 250–275 µm long, 200–205 µm wide. Pseuduncus (Figs 138, 139, 145) slender distally. Valva (Figs 137, 139, 142, 144, 148) 160–170 µm long, with a large apical process, basally with a joint (Figs 137, 140–142). Juxta (Figs 140–142) membranous and inconspicuous. Vinculum with moderately long (Figs139, 143, 144) or small lateral lobes (Figs 137, 142, 148) (note that length of the lobes depends on genitalia prepararation and in older genitalia mounts the lateral lobes of vinculum usually look shorter). Phallus (Figs 149–152) 240–250 µm long, with numerous, tiny spine-like cornuti (Fig. 147), but without lateral carinae.
Female (Figs 39–41). Forewing length 2.2–2.4 mm; wingspan 4.7–5.4 mm (n = 5). Similar to male, but fore-wing with a distinctive, yellowish cream fascia. Genitalia (Figs 153–157) 550–665 µm long. Abdominal apex trun-cated, with short setae; Anterior and posterior apophyses equal in length; anterior apophyses bent inwardly (Figs 153, 154). Corpus bursae with two large, oval-shaped signa (Figs 153, 154, 157); one signum is slightly shorter (Fig. 157). Ductus spermathaecae with 3.5–4 coils and a tube-like vesicle (Fig. 156).
Bionomics (Figs 6, 26–28, 42). Host plant is Spiraea canescens D. Don. (Rosaceae), a plant native in northern Pakistan to the Himalaya. Larvae mine in leaves in August. Larva pale green, with dark green intestine and brown head (Fig. 28). The leaf mine starts as a slender gallery filled with brown-black or black frass (Fig. 26); distally the leaf mines expand to a round blotch (Fig. 27), with frass scattered irregularly. Cocoon ochre-brown to reddish brown, 2.0– 2.2 mm long, 1.2–1.5 mm wide (Fig. 42). Adults fly in September.
Distribution. Known from a few localities in the western Himalaya, Uttarakhand, at the elevation of about 450–2000 m (Fig. 1: wHi), but the host plant has a much wider distribution.
Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin orbiculatus (round, globosus), in reference to the round leaf mine of this species.
description: Published as part of Stonis, Jonas R., Remeikis, Andrius, Diškus, Arūnas & Navickaitė, Asta, 2020, Documenting new and little known leaf-mining Nepticulidae from middle and southwestern areas of the Asian continent, pp. 401-452 in Zootaxa 4881 (3) on pages 419-420, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4881.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4283789