Eidophasia tauricella Staudinger, 1880

Baraniak, Edward & Walczak, Urszula, 2015, Redescription of Eidophasia tauricella Staudinger, 1880 (Lepidoptera, Plutellidae) with first description of the female genitalia, Zootaxa 3956 (3), pp. 445-448 : 445-447

Eidophasia tauricella Staudinger, 1880

( Figs. 1– 3 )

Staudinger, 1880: 282–284.

Materials examined. Holotype: ♀ (abdomen missing), labelled: Origin. [printed]; Type [printed red rectangular label]; Taurus Hbhr. [handwritten]; Bang-Haas [printed]; ex coll Staudinger [printed] 1/1 [handwritten]; Tauricella Stgr. [handwritten]; ♀, Taurus, coll. Wocke, genitalia slide no. A199.

Type locality. Taurus (3000–3700 m a.s.l.), mountain range in southern Turkey.

Description Forewing span 14 mm. Head intermixed with grey and white, erect scales. Labial palpi with basal segment white; middle segment slightly shorter than basal one, grey and white, with a long tuft of scales (longer than middle segment), outermost scales white, other scales grey and white; distal segment short, straight, pointed, white. Maxillary palpi small, slender, curved, white basally, with large black patch apically. Antenna: scape white; three preserved flagellomeres mottled white and grey. Forewing elongate, pointed at apex, pale yellow mottled with brownishgrey scales. Two conspicuous, vertical pale yellow bands of similar width, but proximal band wider near dorsal margin; both bands bordered with black scales. Pale yellow, V-shaped band near wing apex 2/3 of wing width. Black spot near its outer edge, at half of wing width. Triangular, pale yellow spot near costal margin, between transverse band and V-shaped band. Forewing cilia pale grey, with 2 darker lines. Hindwing and cilia pale grey. Thorax pale grey.

Female genitalia. Papilla analis short and wide, covered with fine setae. Posterior and anterior apophyses short and slender. Antrum cup-shaped, narrow. Ductus bursae short and wide, dilated near inception of bursa copulatrix; short anterior section of ductus bursae strongly sclerotized, strongly curved near inception of ductus seminalis. Bursa copulatrix oval, only slightly wider than posterior section of ductus bursae; signum absent.

Remarks. A cup-shaped antrum and short and wide ductus bursae with only a short section sclerotized are common for all known species of Eidophasia .

The genital characteristics described above make it possible to confirm Staudinger’s (1880) diagnosis unambiguously, maintain the assignment of this species to the genus Eidophasia , and support the specific rank of E. tauricella .

The female genitalia of E. tauricella are clearly different from that of E. syenitella Herrich-Schäffer, 1854 . In the latter species, the antrum is small and the ductus bursae long and sclerotized. Additionally, in E. syenitella the bursa copulatrix is round and strongly sclerotized. The female genitalia of E. tauricella are similar of that of E. messingiella (Fischer von Roeslerstamm, 1840), but in the latter species the antrum is longer, and the bursa copulatrix larger.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Eidophasia tauricella. 1. External appearance. 2. Holotype labels. 3. Female genitalia: a – general view, b – ductus bursae near inception of ductus seminalis

FIGURE 3. Eidophasia tauricella. Female genitalia: a—general view, b—ductus bursae near inception of ductus seminalis