Capperia insomnis, TOWNSEND, 1956

Alipanah, Helen, Gielis, Cees, Sari, Alireza, Sarafrazi, Alimorad & Manzari, Shahab, 2011, Phylogenetic relationships in the tribe Oxyptilini (Lepidoptera, Pterophoridae, Pterophorinae) based on morphological data of adults, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 163 (2), pp. 484-547 : 529

CAPPERIA INSOMNIS TOWNSEND, 1956

Capperia insomnis Townsend, 1956: 93 .

Procapperia hackeri Arenberger, 2002: 74 . syn. nov.

Material examined: Capperia insomnis : 1 male (Holotype), Nakuru, bred: 1.i.1943 (A. Townsend) (genitalia preparation. BM 21288, BMNH); 1 female, Nakuru, vi.1995 (A. Townsend) (genitalia preparation BM 21289, BMNH); 1 male, Tanzania, Morogoro, 30.i.1992, leg. L. Aarvik (genitalia preparation CG 4457, Aarvik); 1 female, Democratic Republic Congo, Ht. Katanga, Panda , 15.ii.1930, leg. J. Romieux (genitalia preparation CG 5839, Mus. Geneve) (the photos of these specimens were studied). Procapperia hackeri : 1 male, 3 females (Paratypes), Yemen Arab Republic, Prov. Sana′ a, 15°12′64″ N, 43°57′38″ E, 6 km north-west of suq Baw′ an, 3035 m, 20.iv.1998, leg. A. Bischof, J. Bitterman, M. Fibiger, H. Hacker, H. Peks, H.-P. Schreier.

Comments: We consider Capperia insomnis to be a senior synonym of Procapperia hackeri . These two species are very close to each other in the wing pattern and characteristics. The presence of a pair of hair tufts in the middle part of the ventral side of the specialized eighth sternite of males can be considered as an autapomorphy for C. insomnis . This species is different from all known Procapperia species in several characters and even host plants (see above).