Sattleria basistrigella Huemer, 1997

Huemer, Peter & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2011, Cryptic diversity and phylogeography of high alpine Sattleria — a case study combining DNA barcodes and morphology (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 2981, pp. 1-22 : 16-17

Sattleria basistrigella Huemer, 1997 , bona sp., stat. rev.

( Figs 7 , 20 , 34 )

Gelechia dzieduszykii [sic] f. basistrigella Müller-Rutz, 1934: 121 , pl. 1, fig. 7; unavailable, infrasubspecific. Sattleria triglavica basistrigella Huemer, 1997: 286 , figs 1–2, 5.

Description. Adult ( Fig. 7 ). Head cream, labial palpus cream, mottled with mid-brown; antenna blackish brown; thorax and abdomen mid-brown. Wingspan 3 19.0–20.0 mm; forewing ground colour light cream-brown, intensively mottled whitish cream, mid-brown along costa; irregular dark brown transverse band at 3/4; black markings well developed: broad black stripe through fold, angulated dash in middle of forewing at end of cell and few black scales near base of forewing, termen with several black spots; fringes concolorous with ground colour, weakly defined fringe line present; hindwing light grey with concolorous fringes. Female brachypterous (see Huemer and Karsholt 2010).

Male genitalia ( Figs 20 , 34 ). Uncus with evenly rounded apex; gnathos hook strong, culcitula moderate; tegumen anteriorly widened, broadly and deeply emarginated anterior margin; pedunculi long, slender; valva long, slender, shorter than uncus, weakly curved; sacculus shorter than valva, medially broadened with slightly concave outer margin, abruptly tapered to short apical part; vinculum deeply emarginated with pair of processes; primary process long and needle-shaped, about level with apex of sacculus; secondary process arising from basal half of primary process, broad based, outer edge sub-rectangular, without serration; saccus shorter than primary vincular process, slender, sub-rectangular with cut-off apex; anellus with pair of small, rounded, centrally perforated sclerites; phallus slender, nearly straight, without medial projection, coecum scarcely inflated, apex with short and straight sclerotized arm.

Female genitalia. See Pitkin and Sattler (1991: fig. 59) and Huemer and Karsholt (2010).

Diagnosis. Sattleria basistrigella is externally similar to S. graiaeella sp. nov. and S. triglavica which were hitherto considered conspecific. It differs from the former by its larger wingspan (19.0-20.0 mm versus 16.5–18.5 mm) and from the latter in the more distinct transverse band of the forewing. Another similar species, S. breviramus , differs in the black base of the forewing costa. Highly diagnostic characters are found in the male genitalia which differ from all related species particularly in the distinctly smaller and sub-rectangular secondary process of the vinculum ( Figs 20 , 34 ) which is large and convex in all other Sattleria species ( Figs 17–19 , 32–33, 35 ). The females of formerly mixed taxa are either unknown ( S. triglavica ) or their identity remains doutbful ( S. graiaeella sp. nov.). The COI data indicate significant divergence with mean distances to other species of Sattleria ranging from a low of 2.98% ( S. breviramus ) to 5.32%. The maximum intraspecific divergence detected was 0.85% (n=5).

Bionomics. The larva was observed in July feeding on Silene acaulis (L.) Jacqu., and living in a silken tube hidden inside cushions of the host-plant ( Pitkin and Sattler 1991). The adults are on the wing from July to August, while laboratory-reared specimens emerged from late September to early October indicating plasticity in phenology. Habitats are alpine scree and rock formations primarily on siliceous soil with sparse vegetation at elevations ranging from about 2400 m to above 3000 m.

Distribution. Only known from the Pennine Alps in the southern part of the Valais ( Switzerland). The single male record of this subspecies from the Italian Dolomites ( Pitkin and Sattler 1991) was re-examined by us. It is based on a traditional male slide and important characters of the genitalia needed to confirm its identity are nearly invisible.

Remarks. Müller-Rutz (1934) introduced basistrigella as an infrasubspecific name and only recently the taxon was validated and formally re-described as S. triglavica basistrigella ( Huemer 1997) .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Adults of Sattleria. 1 – 2, S. melalecuella (Constant), 1, 3, 2, Ƥ; 3, S. karsholti sp. nov., 3, holotype; 4, S. cottiella sp. nov., 3, holotype; 5, S. izoardi Huemer & Sattler, 3; 6, S. graiaeella sp. nov., 3, holotype; 7, S. basistrigella Huemer, 3; 8, S. triglavica Povolný, 3.

FIGURES 17 – 20. Male genitalia of Sattleria. 17, S. graiaeella sp. nov., paratype, slide GEL 1135; 18, S. dzieduszyckii (Nowicki), slide Mus. Vind. 11242; 19, S. triglavica Povolný, paratype, slide Mus. Vind. 11241; 20, S. basistrigella Huemer, slide GEL 1139.

FIGURES 32 – 35. Male genitalia of Sattleria (details of valva-vinculum complex). 32, S. graiaeella sp. nov., paratype, slide GEL 1135; 33, ditto, paratype, slide GEL 1136; 34, S. basistrigella Huemer, slide GEL 1139; 35, S. triglavica Povolný, paratype, slide Mus. Vind. 11202.