Urodeta pectena, Sruoga & Rocienė, 2018

Sruoga, Virginijus & Rocienė, Agnė, 2018, Three new species of Elachistidae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) from India, Zootaxa 4394 (4), pp. 575-585 : 582

Urodeta pectena , sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 16–19 )

Type material. Holotype: ♀, India, Uttarakhand, Dehradun district, Rishikesh , 30°08’13.73”N 78°19’55.12”E, 450 m, 09.viii.2010, V. Sruoga leg. Gen. prep. VS469 (LEU).

Diagnosis. Urodeta pectena is a small, pale-coloured species with indistinct wing markings. The female genitalia of the new species is mostly similar to U. talea Sruoga & De Prins, 2011 , known from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the forewing of U. pectena is without distinct dark streaks and spots, the colliculum is not dilated and the signum is composed of 9 long teeth, instead of 6–7 as present in U. talea .

Female ( Figs. 16–17 ). Forewing length 2.5 mm; wingspan 5.5 mm (n=1). Head: Frons creamy white, only a few scales with light greyish brown tips; vertex and neck tuft creamy white, some scales with greyish brown tips; labial palpus short and straight, about 0.6 times as long as width of head, creamy white; scape broader than flagellum, covered with creamy white scales, without pecten; flagellum pale brown, without clear annulations. Thorax, tegula and forewing strongly mottled with scales basally creamy white and distally greyish brown; very small blackish brown spot at 2/3 of wing; fringe brownish grey. Hindwing and its fringe brownish grey.

Male. Unknown.

Female genitalia ( Figs. 18–19 ). Papillae anales short, with scattered long setae; posteriorly with zone of very short setae mixed with longer ones. Apophyses posteriores vestigial, each visible only as a very short extension basolaterally. Tergum 8 very short, not sclerotized, apophyses anteriores weakly sclerotized except at apices, extending from central part of segment and spreading apart laterad. Ostium bursae situated in membrane between sterna 7 and 8. Antrum and colliculum not distinct. Ductus bursae wide, spirally coiled, with minute internal spines throughout its length. Corpus bursae with minute internal spines; signum formed from 9 stout teeth, which are slightly varying in size.

Biology. Unknown.

Flight period. The only known specimen was captured at the beginning of August.

Distribution. So far this species is known only from northern India ( Fig. 1 ).

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin pecten (comb) in reference to the shape of the signum.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Elachistinae species in India. A, Elachista antipetra Meyrick, 1922, E. heteroplaca Meyrick, 1934, E. strepens Meyrick, 1922, E. leucosyrma Meyrick, 1932, E. stichospora Meyrick, 1932; B, E. caelebs Meyrick, 1933, Haplophylax paraphanes Meyrick, 1932; C, Elachista endobela Meyrick, 1926, E. quadrata Meyrick, 1932; D, E. brachyplectra Meyrick, 1921, E. spiculifera Meyrick, 1922; E, E. confirmata Meyrick, 1931; F, E. nearcha Meyrick, 1910; G, E. arcuata, sp. nov., Urodeta jurateae, sp. nov., U. pectena, sp. nov.

FIGURES 16–19. Urodeta pectena sp. nov., holotype. 16, adult female. Scale bar 1 mm; 17, head, latero-frontal view; 18, female genitalia, caudal part; 19, ductus and corpus bursae. Gen.prep. VS469.Scale bar 0.1 mm.