Argyresthia (Blastotere) anthocephala Meyrick, 1936

Liu, Tengteng, Wang, Shuxia & Li, Houhun, 2017, Review of the genus Argyresthia Hübner, [1825] (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea: Argyresthiidae) from China, with descriptions of forty-three new species, Zootaxa 4292 (1), pp. 1-135 : 20-21

7. Argyresthia (Blastotere) anthocephala Meyrick, 1936

( Figs. 9 c, 9d, 19, 90, 147, 203, 257)

Argyresthia anthocephala Meyrick, 1936: 622 . TL: Japan (Kyoto). TD: BMNH (Lectotype and Paralectotype). Argyresthia cryptomeriae Yang : Xu, Liu & Zhu, 1991: 457. [nomen non rite publicatum]

Description. Adult ( Fig. 19 ) wingspan 8.5̄ 9.5 mm. Head with vertex yellow, frons white, face slivery grayish white. Labial palpus fuscous except gray dorsally. Antenna with scape pale yellowish, pecten fuscous; flagellum grayish fuscous, dotted with black dorsally on each flagellomere. Foreleg grayish white on dorsal surface, femur grayish fuscous, tibia and tarsus blackish fuscous on inner surface; midleg grayish white, femur dark fuscous on inner surface, tibia and tarsus blackish fuscous on dorsal surface; hindleg grayish white, tarsus with distal four tarsomeres blackish fuscous dorsally. Thorax and tegula dark fuscous. Forewing ratio 4.0; unicolorous fuscous to dark fuscous; cilia concolorous with wing along costa and apex, gray near tornus. Hindwing gray, cilia paler.

Abdomen slivery blackish gray dorsally, pale yellowish fuscous ventrally. Female similar to male in size and wing pattern, but darker in forewing color.

Venation: Forewing with R4 and R5 separate; hindwing with M3 and CuA1 from same point.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 90 , 147 , 203 ): Tuba analis equal to width of valva in length. Socius covered with 23̄27 scale-like setae, bearing a single long seta posteriorly ( Fig. 203 ). Valva widest in basal 2/7, dorsal margin arched, ventral margin convex at basal 4/7; transtilla developed, curved inward near middle about 90°. Saccus very short, truncate apically. Phallus more or less S-shaped, 3.4 times as long as width of valva, with about 10 micro-denticles on outer surface distally; cornutus about 1/2 length of phallus, with four to five strong denticles ( Figs. 147, 147 a). Second sternite with seven to ten micro-setae in each row; eighth sternite Y-shaped. Coremata present.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 257 ): Ovipositor 2.3 times as long as eighth segment. Anterior apophysis 4/5 length of posterior apophysis, bifurcate before distal 1/4; branch bifurcate a second time, with dorsal branch extending to lamella postvaginalis, ventral branch fused or disconnected with opposite one. Lamella postvaginalis hourglassshaped. Antrum an elongate funnel, about 2/3 length of eighth segment. Ductus bursae covered with groups of micro-denticles arranged like combs from opening of ductus seminalis to corpus bursae ( Fig. 257 a), becoming round denticles or micro-spines towards corpus bursae; ductus seminalis originating from anterior 2/5 of ductus bursae. Corpus bursae ovate, with sparse denticles; signum with horns straight, extending almost horizontally.

Variation. In material from Japan, phallus nearly straight in male genitalia; ductus bursae covered with microdenticles but not arranged like combs in female genitalia.

Material examined. Zhejiang Province: 7Ƌ, 10♀, Mt. Wuyanling (27.71°N, 119.67°E), Taishun County, 1050 m, 28̄ 31.vii, 1.viii.2005, leg. Yunli Xiao, slide nos. FXM07025Ƌ , FXM07026♀, XYL05004♀, LTT12524W; 1♂, 2♀, 1 ex. (without left forewing, hindwings and abdomen), Mt. Qinglianfeng (30.11°N, 118.88°E), Lin'an County, 900 m, 8.viii.2005, Yunli Xiao, slide nos . LTT12307♂, LTT12308♀; 2♂, Mt. Fengyang (28.08°N, 119.13°E), Longquan County, Lishui City , 1470 m, 26, 30.vii.2007, leg. Qing Jin, slide no. LTT12312 ; 1♀, Kaishanlaodian, Mt. Tianmu, Hangzhou City , (30.34°N, 119.45°E), 1140 m, 17.viii.1999, leg. Houhun Li et al., slide no. YHL00389 . Hubei Province: 1♀, Mt. Wujia (31.08°N, 115.82°E), Yingshan County, 8.vii.2008, leg. Yunli Xiao, slide no. LTT12310 . Fujian Province: 1♀, Maodi (26.71°N, 118.09°E), Nanping City , 850 m, 23.ix.2002, leg. Xinpu Wang, slide no. LTT12309 . Japan: Honshu: 1♀, Anamizu , Ishikawa-Pref., 29.vii.1961, leg. A. Kawabe ; 1♂, Daisen , Tottori, 10.vii.1964, leg. Sigeru Moriuti, slide no. UIK-4801 ( UOPJ).

Host plants: Cryptomeria japonica (Linn. fil.) D. Don ( Cupressaceae ). Xu et al. (1991) recorded the host plant as C. fortunei Hooibrenk ex Otto & Dietr. , which is now considered a synonym of C. japonica ( The Plant List 2013).

Distribution. China (Fujian, Hubei, Jiangxi, Zhejiang), Japan.

Diagnosis. This species has a unicolorous forewing, which resembles the unicolorous species in the subgenus Blastotere . Argyresthia (B.) anthocephala can be separated by the fuscous or dark fuscous forewing, whereas the forewing in other unicolorous congeners is bronze brown or grayish white ( Bengtsson & Johansson 2011). The genitalia of A. (B.) anthocephala are similaar to those of A. (B.) illuminatella Zeller, 1839 , but A. (B.) anthocephala can be distinguished by the cornutus with four to five strong denticles in the male genitalia, whereas the cornutus has more than six strong denticles in A. (B.) illuminatella (Baraniak et al. 2003; Bengtsson & Johansson 2011).

Remarks. Several presumed important characters were not included in the original or subsequent descriptions (Meyrick 1936; Moriuti 1965, 1977), e.g., the number of strong denticles on the cornutus. A revised description is thus given here. Populations in China and Japan vary in some morphological features, which we consider not diagnostic. Xu et al. (1991) mentioned that A. (Blastotere) anthocephala was a new species and would be published by the late prof. Jikun Yang under the name cryptomeriae . However, we could not find any formal publication of this name, even in the book “Memories of Prof. Jikun Yang” which listed all the new species published by him ( Yang 2005). Xu et al. described the adult of this species under the name cryptomeriae , but did not designate a holotype. Therefore the name Argyresthia cryptomeriae , nomen non rite publicatum, is treated here as an unavailable name.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 10. Genital structures of Argyresthia spp. 9, male genitalia, a – b, A. (Argyresthia) aphoristis Meyrick, 1938, slide no. LTT 12348, c – d, A. (Blastotere) anthocephala Meyrick, 1936, slide no. LTT 12312; 10, female genitalia, A. (A.) brockeella Hübner, [1805], slide no. LTT 12549. (Scales, 9 a – c = 0.2 mm, 9 d = 0.1 mm; 10 = 0.5 mm)

FIGURES 12 – 19. Adults of Argyresthia spp. 12, A. (Blastotere) aureola, sp. nov., ♀, paratype; 13, A. (B.) sporadolepis, sp. nov., ♀, paratype; 14, A. (B.) cineretra, sp. nov., ♂, holotype; 15, A. (B.) cineretra, sp. nov., ♀, paratype; 16, A. (B.) affinicineretra, sp. nov., ♂, holotype; 17, A. (B.) albaureola, sp. nov., ♀, paratype; 18, A. (B.) densa, sp. nov., ♀, paratype; 19, A. (B.) anthocephala Meyrick, ♀. (Scales = 2.0 mm)

FIGURES 90 – 95. Eighth sternite and male genitalia excluding phallus of Argyresthia spp. 90, A. (Blastotere) anthocephala Meyrick, slide no. LTT 12312; 91, A. (B.) dolichocoremata, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12336, holotype; 92, A. (B.) longipenella, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12430, holotype; 93, A. (A.) conjugella Zeller, slide no. LTT 12433; 94, A. (A.) conjugella Zeller, slide no. LTT 12768; 95, A. (A.) minutilepidota, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12455, paratype. (Scales = 0.2 mm)

FIGURES 147 – 149. Phallus of Argyresthia spp. 147, A. (Blastotere) anthocephala Meyrick, slide no. LTT 12312, 147 a, enlarged view of distal part of cornutus; 148, A. (B.) dolichocoremata, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12336, holotype; 149, A. (B.) longipenella, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12430, holotype, 149 a, enlarged view of distal part of cornutus. (Scales: 147 ̅ 149 = 0.2 mm; 147 a, 149 a = 0.1 mm).

FIGURES 197 – 208. Socii of Argyresthia spp. 197, A. (Blastotere) aureola, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12305, holotype; 198, A. (B.) sporadolepis, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12412, paratype; 199, A. (B.) cineretra, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12404, paratype; 200, A. (B.) affinicineretra, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12710, holotype; 201, A. (B.) albaureola, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12436, holotype; 202, A. (B.) densa, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12228, holotype; 203, A. (B.) anthocephala Meyrick, slide no. LTT 12312; 204, A. (B.) dolichocoremata, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12336, holotype; 205, A. (B.) longipenella, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12430, holotype; 206, A. (Argyresthia) conjugella Zeller, slide no. LTT 12433; 207, A. (A.) minutilepidota, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12455, paratype; 208, A. (A.) flavifusca, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12880, holotype. (Scales = 0.1 mm)

FIGURES 256 – 258. Female genitalia of Argyresthia spp. 256, A. (Blastotere) densa, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12225, paratype; 257, A. (B.) anthocephala Meyrick, slide no. LTT 12308, 256 a, enlarged view of comb-like denticles, slide no. LTT 12309; 258, A. (B.) punctireticulata, sp. nov., slide no. LTT 12114, holotype. (Scales: 255 ¯ 257 = 0.5 mm; 256 a = 0.025 mm)