Dichomeris Hübner, 1818

Li, Houhun, Zhen, Hui & Mey, Wolfram, 2013, Notes on Dichomeris Hübner, 1818 from Southern Africa and Kenya, with description of seven new species (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Dichomeridinae), Zootaxa 3608 (7), pp. 561-574 : 562

Dichomeris Hübner, 1818

Dichomeris Hübner, 1818: 25 . Type species: Dichomeris ligulella Hübner, 1818 , by subsequent designation. Synonyms see Hodges 1986.

Diagnostic characters: Head with ocellus present or absent; labial palpus with developed scale tuft or long scales on second segment; mesothorax with or without hair pencil arising from anepisternum in male; forewing with R1, R2 and R3 almost parallel, R4 and R5 short-stalked, M2 close to M3, CuA1 and CuA2 short-stalked, 1A+2A forked basally, CuP absent; hindwing with M3 close to or fused with CuA2 at base. Male gnathos strongly hook-shaped, culcitula densely spinous; valva with either dorsal margin or ventral margin protrudent, or dilated distally; vinculum developed, usually with symmetrical lateral lobes; sicae developed, phallus with one or several sclerotized lobes from zone. Female ductus bursae usually with sclerotized lobes extending into corpus bursae; corpus bursae with accessory bursae, signum present or absent.

Biology. Larvae of the most known species in this genus feed on woody plants. Most of them feed in folded or rolled leaves, some feed in buds, bean-pod and roots, and some feed in leaf or needle miners (Li 2002).

Distribution. The genus Dichomeris occurs in all regions except New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, the arctic and subarctic regions (Hodges 1986, Dugdale 1988).