Bradyrrhoa imperialella ( Ragonot, 1887 )

Yepishin, Viktor, Khalaim, Yevhenii, Budashkin, Yuriy, Zhakov, Oleksandr, Mushynskyi, Vadym & Novytskyi, Sergiy, 2021, New records of pyraloid moths (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) from different regions of Ukraine, Zootaxa 5023 (3), pp. 366-388 : 371-372

Bradyrrhoa imperialella ( Ragonot, 1887)

( Figs 6–8 )

Material examined: 1♀, Crimea, Feodosia distr. , Suuk-Su, Crimaea [sic], 11.VIII.1917 (L. Sheljuzhko), genitalia slide: V . Yepishin, prep. no. 435.20 ♀ ( ZMKU) .

Comparative material studied. Bradyrrhoa gilveolella ( Treitschke, 1833) : 1♀, Kherson reg., Skadovsk distr. , 1,5 km SE Burkuty, 46°23’36”N, 32°48’37”E, at light, 12–14.VII.2019 ( V. Yepishin), genitalia slide: V. Yepishin, prep. no. 449.20 ♀ (VYe) .

Notes on female. Sexual dimorphism is not revealed, except for antennae, in males the flagellum is slightly thicker, flattened and sinuate basally, labial palpi are the same. Antennae of female rounded, ventrally brown, as in male not densely covered with very short cilia visible only at very high magnification, dorsally covered with tight-fitting white-yellow scales. For a detailed description of the imago see Ragonot (1893: 266–277). The female genitalia are described here for the first time.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 7 ): papillae anales large, covered with long filiform scales, taper abruptly in the middle, so that distal part twice as narrower as the base. Posterior and anterior apophyses of same length. Segment VIII equal in length and width, tergum VIII with a non-sclerotized zone, in the posterior half of the segment, and with small V-shaped anteromedial emargination, sternum VIII with broad anteromedial emargination. Antrum funnel-shaped, very sclerotized, ostium very wide. Ductus bursae short, almost twice shorter than the antrum. Ductus bursae and seminalis equal in width. Ductus seminalis emerges from the base of the bursa copulatrix near ductus bursae. Bursa copulatrix oviform. Ductus bursae, ductus seminalis and bursa copulatrix have many needle-like signae. Signae of bursa copulatrix three times longer than signae of ductus bursae and seminalis.

Remark. Non-fresh or pale-coloured specimens can be confused with B. gilveolella . Antennae in females of these species do not differ, but labial palpi have characteristic differences. In B. gilveolella II-segment of labial palpus is twice as long as the diameter of eye, cylindrical, directed forward ( Fig. 9 ). In B. imperialella II-segment of labial palpus is not much longer than diameter of eye, fusiform, directed upwards ( Fig. 8 ), all these traits also apply to males. Other differences between males have already been discussed ( Yepishin et al. 2020).

Distribution: North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Russia: Siberia ( Ragonot 1893; Koçak & Kemal 2018) and Caucasus (Sinev et al. 2019); Bulgaria ( Plant 2016); Ukraine: Crimea ( Budashkin 2004).

Notes on taxonomy. Having undergone combinations with different genera, this species still remains in the genus Bradyrrhoa ( Yepishin et al. 2020) . However, new data: a simple bursa, a highly sclerotized funnel-shaped antrum in the female genitalia and a specific edeagus with its cornuti in the male genitalia in comparison with those of a typical species— Bradyrrhoa gilveolella , the presence of a sinus in the male antennae (absent in B. gilveolella ), as well as a caterpillar host plant— Onosma polyphylla Lebed. from the family Boraginaceae (famous host plants of B. gilveolella and other species of the genus Bradyrrhoa —are from the family Asteraceae ), cast doubt on the position of B. imperialella in the genus Bradyrrhoa . Further investigation is need for clarification.

Figures

FIGURES 6–7. Female of Bradyrrhoa imperialella, Crimea. 6. Adult. 7. Female genitalia, prep. no. 435.20.

FIGURES 8–9. Heads of females of Bradyrrhoa spp. 8. B. imperialella, Crimea, prep. no. 435.20. 9. B. gilveolella, Kherson region, prep. no. 449.20. (Black lines indicate the boundaries of the segments of labial palpus, Roman numerals indicate the order of the segments.)