Athrips aquila Junnilainen

Junnilainen, Jari & Nupponen, Kari, 2010, The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part I: descriptions of seventeen new species (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 2366, pp. 1-34 : 21-23

Athrips aquila Junnilainen sp. n.

Figs. 43–45

Type material. Holotype: 3: Russia, S-Ural, Orenburg district, 51°26’N 57°26’E, 250 m, Kuvandyk 12 km SE, 13–16.VI.1998, J. Junnilainen leg. ( JJ, to be deposited in ZMH). Paratypes (14 3, 2 ƤƤ; Fig. 43): 1 3 same data as holotype ( JJ). Russia: S-Ural: Cheliabinsk district, 53°57’N 59°03’E, 650 m, near Moskovo village, 10.VII.1997 (1 3), 11.VII.1997 (1 3), K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen leg. ( JJ, TKN,); 11.VII.1998 (1 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 04.VIII.2000 (1 3), T. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 52°39’N 59°34’E, 350 m, Arkaim reserve near Amurskii village, 09.VII.1997 (1 Ƥ), K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen leg. ( JJ, TKN); Orenburg district: 51°23’N 56°49’E, 130–340 m, Donskoje village 6 km W, mount Verbljushka, 17.VI. 1999 1 3, T. & K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 27.VIII.2000 (2 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 28.VII.2000 (1 Ƥ), T. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 27.VI.2003 (2 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 50°40–45’N 54°26–28’E, 170–230 m, Pokrovka village 20 km S, Schibendy valley, 28.IX.2005 (1 3), 22.VIII.2006 (1 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 50°58’N 54°25’E, 100 m, near Burannoe village, 18.VIII.2006 (1 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN); 51°26’N 57°26’E, 250 m, Kuvandyk 12 km SE, 19.VII.1998 (1 3), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN). Genitalia slides: J.

Junnilainen prep. no. 0 2012002, 02012003; K. Nupponen prep. no. 1/ 18.XII.2005. One genitalia preparation preserved in glycerol.

PLATE 9. Figures 43–45. Athrips aquila Junnilainen sp. n. 43. Imago (male, paratype); 44. Male genitalia (paratype; slide KN 1/ 18.XII.2005); 45. Female genitalia (paratype; slide JJ 02012003). Figures 46–49. Athrips bidzilyai Junnilainen sp. n. 46. Imago (female, holotype); 47. Male genitalia (paratype, S Buryatia; slide KN 1/ 03.IV.2006); 48. Female genitalia (paratype, Ural; slide JJ 04022302); 49. Ostium (paratype, S Ural; slide JJ 04022302).

Diagnosis. Athrips aquila sp. n. has evenly narrow and dark, almost unicolorous forewings, and therefore it externally resembles dark specimens of Chionodes distinctella (Zeller, 1839) or Chionodes fumatella (Douglas, 1850) . However, the genitalia of both sexes are close to Athrips patockai (Povolný, 1979) . The male genitalia of A. aquila differ from those of A. patockai by a less setose uncus, relatively shorter and broader valva exceeding the middle of uncus setae, more gradually curved gnathos hook, slightly narrower and shorter sacculus and juxta lobes. The male genitalia are overall about 0.3x shorter than those of A. patockai . The female genitalia of A. aquila differ from those of A. patockai by 0.25x longer papillae anales, 0.25x shorter apophyses posteriores, 0.3x narrower sclerotized part of ductus bursae, 0.65x broader ostium and sternite VIII without a broad zone of honeycomb-like structure.

Description. Wingspan 15–17 mm (male), 13.5 mm (female). Head, thorax, abdomen and legs covered with dark brown white-tipped scales. Antenna dark brown, weakly ringed ochreous brown. Labial palp 3x longer than diameter of eye, covered by dark brown white-tipped scales; segment II twice as long and thick as relatively short and thin segment III. Forewing dark brown, overlaid with dark brown and white-tipped scales; four very indistinct darker spots at 1/4 and at 3/ 8 in fold, at 3/7 and at 4/7 at cell; very indistinct subapical fascia only slightly paler than ground colour of forewing. Hindwing and fringe fuscous. Female smaller, otherwise similar to male.

Male genitalia (Fig. 44). Uncus broad, subrectangular, distal margin and lateral sides covered with long setae. Gnathos long, sickle-shaped, apex pointed. Posterior half of tegumen narrow, anterior half moderately broad, anterior margin with V-shaped medial excavation. Valva relatively short and broad, almost straight, narrow apex exceeding middle of uncus setae. Sacculus moderately short and slender, apex bent and tapered. Juxta lobes slightly shorter and as broad as sacculus. Saccus short and broadly rounded. Aedeagus short, basally swollen; distal portion straight, apical half tapered.

Female genitalia (Fig. 45). Papillae anales broad, length 0.5 mm. Apophyses posteriores thin and 0.8 mm in length. Apophyses anteriores rod-shaped, as long as segment VIII (0,4 mm). Sternite VIII with separate honeycomb-like patches laterally; anteromedially arranged in transverse large and outwardly rounded patches, medially weakly wrinkled. Ostium bursae simple. Posterior 0.2 of ductus bursae sclerotized and curved; medial 0.4 almost straight and membranous; anterior 0.4 spiral-shaped, slightly widening towards corpus bursae. Corpus bursae roundish; signum a V-shaped sclerite extended into a sigmoid, situated at junction of corpus and ductus.

Bionomy. The specimens were collected by artificial light from mid-June to late August. A single, freshly-emerged specimen observed in late September represents the second generation. The species occurs in steppe habitats with dominant shrubs such as Spiraea crenata , Spiraea hypericifolia , Caragana frutex and Cotoneaster melanocarpus (see also Remarks).

Distribution. Russia (S Ural), SE Kazakhstan (see also Remarks).

Etymology. Latin aquilus = dark color. The species name is derived from the dark colour of the forewings.

Remarks. Systematically Athrips aquila should be placed near A. patockai . In the collection of ZISP there are two specimens of A. aquila from Kazakhstan: a male labeled “Dzhungarskiy Ala-Tau, Chatyrdag, 4 km NE Topolevka, Sarkand district, larva on Spiraea from 28.IV, imago 03.VII.1957 (V. I. Kuznetzov) (gen. prep. No 34/02); a female bearing a similar label, imago 29.VII.1957 (V. I. Kuznetzov) (gen. prep. No 37/02) (Bidzilya pers. comm.). The species is reported as Athrips sp. n. (Junnilainen in litt.) in a review of the genus Athrips in the Palaearctic region (Bidzilya 2005: 64).