Mniotype adusta

Volynkin, Anton V., Matov, Alexei Yu., Behounek, Gottfried & Han, Hui-Lin, 2014, A review of the Palaearctic Mniotype adusta (Esper, 1790) species-group with description of a new species and six new subspecies (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Zootaxa 3796 (1), pp. 1-32 : 2

Mniotype adusta species-group

Diagnosis. Medium-sized moths. Male antennae finely dentate and fasciculate; female antennae filiform. Male abdomen with well-developed dorsal coremata. Forewing relatively narrow, triangular, with pointed apex. Body and forewing colouration variable within species and subspecies. Wing pattern with all main noctuoid elements; medial fascia present. In the male genitalia uncus short, narrow, apically pointed; tegumen moderately long and relatively broad; penicular lobes large, densely hairy; juxta trapezoidal, strongly sclerotised, with two long, thin, apically serrate apical processes; vinculum short, U-shaped. Valva elongated, slightly narrowed at middle; costa strongly sclerotised, with small, triangular subapical dorsal lobe; digitus broad, triangular, its apical third acute, pointed; cucullus relatively small, rounded or subquadrangular, densely setose; corona present; in some species ( M. krisztina ) a small pollex present. Sacculus large, broad; clavus represented as a setose lobe. Clasper moderately long, well sclerotised; harpe reduced. Ampulla weak, thin, slightly curved, apically setose. Aedeagus (phallus) long, slightly curved; carina robust, triangular, with eversible, strongly dentate dorso-lateral bar. Vesica moderately long, its basal third membranous, tubular, with large subconical ventral diverticulum; distal two-thirds of vesica broad, upturned dorsally, its membrane finely scobinate; terminal diverticulum elongated, with long, narrow band of fine, short spinules. In the female genitalia ovipositor short, conical; apophyses anteriores and posteriores thin, moderately long. Ostium bursae large, strongly sclerotised, infundibulum-like, connected to ductus bursae with membranous neck. Ductus bursae strongly sclerotised, moderately long, broad, flattened, more or less twisted. Appendix bursae medium-sized, rounded, sclerotised-wrinkled. Corpus bursae sack-like, its posterior part sclerotised-wrinkled; anterior part membranous, with small signum.

The genitalia of this species-group are variable within a species or a subspecies. In the male, the following characters are the most variable: length of apical processes of juxta, width of valva, size and shape of cucullus, width and length of digitus, size of carina, size of ventral diverticulum; in the female genitalia, the width and degree of curvature of ductus bursae, size of corpus bursae, and also size of ostium bursae vary. The uniformity of the genitalia and their variability make the determination and treatment of some taxa problematic. Key diagnostic features in this group are: shape of carina and its eversible dorso-lateral bar, shape of clavus, serration of apical processes of juxta, length of ampulla and the relative size of cucullus in males; size and shape of ostium bursae, shape and relative width of ductus bursae, width of sclerotised area in posterior part of corpus bursae and size of signum in females.