Lecithocera flavipalpis Walsingham, 1891

(Figs. 3H, 6A)

Lecithocera flavipalpis Walsingham, 1891: 105 . TL: Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. [NHMUK].

Lecithocera flavipalpalis; Vári & Kroon 1986. Unavailable name (misspelling).

Lecithocera xanthochalca; Meyrick 1914: 199 (as a senior synonym), misidentification.

Leviptera flavipalpis; Janse 1954: 344.

Adult. (Fig. 3H). See Janse (1954, Pl. 150, Fig. 6). Wingspan 18 mm.

Diagnosis. This species is superficially very similar to L. xanthochalca Meyrick, 1914 as illustrated in Fig. 3J, but the female genitalia differ from those of the latter by having a long antrum and a well-developed signum as compared Fig. 6A with Clarke (1965, Pl. 86, figs. 4a, b).

Male genitalia. See Janse (1954, Pl. 142, Fig. 2 - line drawing; Pl. 151, Fig. 5 - photo). The male genitalia are similar to those of L. binotata, but they can be distinguished by the broader cucullus, and they also differ from those of L. ideologa by the cucullus being almost parallel-sided with round apex, whereas in the latter, the cucullus is tapered on ventral margin in apical half.

Female genitalia (Fig. 6A). See also Janse (1954, Pl. 141, fig. 19- signum; Pl. 159, Fig. 5 - photo). Antrum long, weakly sclerotized. Ductus bursae about twice the length of antrum. Corpus bursae elongate, slightly shorter than ductus bursae; signum present, transversally elongate, serrate.

Material examined. The holotype (female), [South Africa], KwaZulu-Natal, Estcourt, 1897, JUM Hutchinson is deposited in NHMUK. Additional specimens in TMSA: 14 males and females, including a male (Hope F’nt’n [Fountain], Rhod[esia], 17 i [19]18, A.J.T. Janse), gen. slides nos. with 5266, 5463, & 6574. Of these additional specimens, a female genitalia was dissected (gen. slide no. CIS-7208/Park) (Fig. 6A).

Distribution. Mozambique (Janse 1951: 345), South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), Zimbabwe (Janse 1951: 345).

Remarks. The species was described based on a single female collected from Estcourt, South Africa. Meyrick (1925) synonymized this species with L. xanthochalca Meyrick, 1914 which was described from Nyasaland (Malawi), but both these species can be separated by the female genitalia. The genus Leviptera Janse, 1954 was synonymized with Lecithocera Herrich-Schäffer, 1853 by Gozmány (1978).